BBC

Ofcom: No new wireless tech for 20 years

Wed, 07 May 2008 06:59:54 -0400

U.K. regulator Ofcom released a report called Tomorrow's Wireless World, which aimed to inform the government on how the wireless industry should be regulated during the next 20 years. Ofcom's head of research and development, William Webb said that Ofcom does not expect to see any new or different technology released during the next 20 years, but existing wireless technologies will be applied to new devices and services. Healthcare, transportation and food safety were chief among the future wireless services. Ofcom predicted sensors in cars would help prevent crashes or notify emergency services if and when they do and allergy sufferers could receive alerts when food products are unsafe for them. The report found that new spectrum will have to released to accommodate these future services but WiFi and existing cellular technologies will probably support them.

For more:
- read this BBC report

SPOTLIGHT: Smartphone sales to overtake laptop sales?

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 06:59:52 -0500

According to a report from the BBC, sales of smartphones are expected to outpace sales of laptops during the next 18 months. Article

O2 U.K. gives iPhone users new plan rates

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 06:59:55 -0500

After three months of iPhone sales in the U.K., O2 is beefing up the data plans of the lower tier users and cutting the price of heavy data plans. The plans will become effective in mid-March. O2's $70 data plan will now offer three times as many texts and minutes and the $110 plan will be cut to $90 starting this Friday. The carrier also plans to introduce a new $150 plan with 3,000 minutes and 500 text messages.

For more on the new U.K. iPhone plans:
- read this article from the BBC

Apple profits up 57% thanks to iPhone

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 06:59:56 -0500

Apple's profit continues to soar thanks to continued strong sales of the iPhone handset, which has shipped 2.3 million units since launching last June. Apple's earnings reached $1.58 billion during the last quarter of 2007, up from $1 billion a year ago. The company, however, predicted a slowdown in sales during the next three months and further growth will come from its new MacBook Air and iTunes rental services.

For more on iPhone growth:
- read this article from the BBC

Orange: 20% of iPhones sold unlocked

Thu, 06 Dec 2007 06:59:55 -0500

France Telecom subsidiary Orange has announced that about 20 percent of the iPhones it has sold to customers have been unlocked. The carrier said it sold about 30,000 iPhones during the first five days of sales, and 48 percent of the buyers were new subscribers to Orange. Orange sells the unlocked version of the iPhone for about $964 or for $590 with a contract. T-Mobile Germany just stopped selling its $1500 unlocked iPhone after it won a suit that Vodafone brought against it regarding its "monopoly" over the iPhone in Germany.

For more on the unlocked iPhone sales in Europe:
- read this article from the BBC

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SPOTLIGHT: Carphone Warehouse misleading iPhone buyers?

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 06:59:52 -0500

The BBC claims that Carphone Warehouse has been misleading customers about Apple's iPhone. Article

Symbian on the defensive

Wed, 07 Nov 2007 06:59:59 -0500

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Symbian on the defensive

Google's intention to build an open platform for mobile phones has garnered both high praise and dismissive comments from various segments of the wireless industry. Even some of Google's 33 partners for the project are playing down its significance. But one company seems particularly defensive over Google's Android project: Symbian.

In an interview with the BBC, Symbian's VP of strategy John Forsyth said Google lacked experience. Making a "mobile OS is a very specialized form of rocket science," Forsyth said. "It's not search rocket science." Forsyth later went on to say that alliances like Google's Open Handset Alliance are formed every few months--"a bit like the common cold. It keeps coming round and then we go back to business."

Palm's reaction to Google's plans was decidedly more tempered: "Palm has always been committed to open platforms for developers. And Palm has the added differentiation of being able to tightly integrate the software platform with our hardware design, which we believe gives us an advantage in delivering a great user experience," the company wrote in a statement to Engadget. Palm doesn't even mention the initiative, directly or indirectly. A veritable shrug.

Apple's reaction was a bit more assertive than Palm's: "We have a great relationship with Google and this doesn't change anything...They are certainly an important partner for iPhone," said Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris.

Microsoft is the only major company besides Symbian (and its partner Nokia) to get defensive about Google's Android project: "It really sounds like they are getting a whole bunch of people together to build a phone and that's something we've been doing for five years," Redmond's Scott Horn, who is part of the Windows Mobile team, told Engadget. Microsoft, however, did not put out a press release touting shipments of its OS the day after Google made its announcement.

Symbian did. According to the release, Symbian shipped 20.4 million Symbian OS handsets in Q3 2007, a 56 percent jump year-on-year. Total Symbian OS handsets shipped now stands at 165 million.

Forsyth also told the BBC that "It's very clear what developers want--volume and a stable platform that doesn't keep breakingÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ [Google and the OHA] are talking about having a phone by the end of next year. It's not one that is going to ignite developers."

Google and the OHA will make the SDK for Android available for developers to download on Monday. We won't have to wait until the end of next year to see whether this project will "ignite developers" or turn out to be shrug-worthy vaporware. -Brian

EU paves the way for in-flight mobile use

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 06:59:55 -0400

While plans for in-flight mobile phone use have been tabled in the U.S. for now, regulators in Europe seem to be paving the way for such services. The EU has recommended that member states approve of the new in-flight technology, which already has spectrum reserved for it, according a report from the BBC. Calls made from the air would be more expensive and U.K. regulator Ofcom said it would investigate any evidence of "excessive charges and abuses of competition" if any prices seem unfair. Mobile use is prohibited on planes currently because research has shown that it interferes with navigation bearing displays by up to five degrees.

For more on the EU's stance on in-flight wireless:
- read this article from the BBC