Easymobile Closer to &#39;Lean, Low-Cost Service&#39; Launch
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Moves by easyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou to launch a low-cost mobile service were boosted today by an agreement to rent airtime from T-Mobile.
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Early next month, a small company called Cubic Telecom will release what itâs calling the first global mobile phone.
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Struggling electronics firm considers breaking itself up in a move that could reshape the mobiles industry
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Aggregator says it expects flat-rate pricing to simplify budgeting for enterprises and to increase usage of hotspots. By Mobile Pipeline News.
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At Connect conference, customers will hear about the progress of its Total Cost of Ownership initiative, as well as upgrades to its HR and JD Edwards&#39; manufacturing software.
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Enough with the smartphones, here comes an easy phone for older folks
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LONDON (CBS.MW) -- T-Mobile is to act as carrier for a web-based UK mobile phone service set up by Denmark&#39;s TDC and the EasyGroup that is to launch in March.
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The LiMo Foundation plans to release the first version of its Linux software platform for mobile phones in March, with handsets running the software due soon.LiMo&#39;s goal is to offer handset manufacturers an open, hardware-independent software platform that offers a secure environment for downloadable applications.Publishing the code on time is one thing, but &quot;putting handsets into consumers&#39; hands is the most important proof point,&quot; said Morgan Gillis, executive director of the LiMo Foundation. That will happen very soon, he said.On Monday, the Foundation will publish a beta version of the software&#39;s APIs (application programming interfaces) so that developers can begin writing applications to run on it.The APIs are still beta versions because the underlying software is not yet complete and minor details may change ahead of its release in March, Gillis said.The LiMo Foundation is focusing on phones&#39; middleware, leaving handset manufacturers and operators to choose their own user interface and content applications.That freedom is important, Gillis said, because &quot;the cost of developing the first phone on a platform can be as high as half a billion dollars.&quot;Phone manufacturers may be unwilling to make that kind of commitment to a new operating system if it will also leave them tied to another company&#39;s user interface or content applications, he said.&quot;That&#39;s why Windows Mobile and Series 60 didn&#39;t gain broad traction; suppliers didn&#39;t feel comfortable,&quot; he said.LiMo faces competition from another open platform,&#160;Android, supported by Google&#160;and the Open Handset Alliance.For Gillis, the connection between Android and Google&#39;s content make that another example of a tied operating system.Although the LiMo Foundation&#39;s code is not quite finished, most of it has already been proven in handsets sold or distributed by founder members Motorola, NEC, NTT DoCoMo, Panasonic, Samsung Electronics, and Vodafone, Gillis said.Nevertheless, there are some new elements, notably the security model, Gillis said. &quot;Security in handsets is an area that tends to evolve quite quickly,&quot; he said.Since development of the platform began, &quot;there are no major new threats, but it&#39;s about evolving approaches and algorithms that address the security situation.&quot;Although the underlying platform is open, the handsets based on it may not be. The LiMo code includes support for application signing, allowing handset designers or operators to block the execution of unsigned downloads.&quot;The precise rules used for application signing are usually determined by the operator,&quot; Gillis said.However, he said, there are signs that operators are moving away from the &quot;walled garden&quot; they favored in the past to a more open approach.
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Finding the closest pizza parlor may now be as easy as typing the question into your mobile phone.
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The idea of paying for things by swiping a cell phone near a payment terminal received another boost Tuesday with the announcement that Philips, Nokia and a German train company will launch trials of the technology early next year.
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(InfoWorld) - Underdog mobile operator Sprint Nextel quietly rolled out an emerging technology on Monday to give customers a strong cellular signal and flat-rate calling at home. In parts of Denver and Indianapolis, Sprint started selling aÂ femtocell, a small cellular base station that provides service specifically to a customer's home. The Sprint Airave, made by Samsung Electronics, costs $49.99 and is designed for people to install in their own homes by plugging it into a broadband Internet connection. Then they can pay a flat monthly rate -- $15 for an individual and $30 for a family -- for unlimited local and nationwide long-distance calls while at home. The Airave works with any Sprint handset, and when the subscriber leaves home, a call will automatically shift over to the outside cellular network. Femtocells are designed to solve the problem of weak cellular signals in homes, which is common in the U.S. They are an alternative to Wi-Fi phones, which are available only in a limited selection, though they work with wireless LAN gear that's already widely used in homes. Sprint is at least the first major U.S. carrier to offer femtocells, which are expected to enter the market in high volume in 2009. The carrier plans to start selling the Airave all across Denver and Indianapolis, as well as in Nashville, Tennessee, by year's end. It will be offered nationwide in 2008, Sprint said in a press release. The move is the latest use of new technology by Sprint, a smaller rival to Verizon Wireless and AT&T's wireless division, in a bid to compete. The Overland Park, Kansas, carrier is also set toÂ roll out WiMax wireless broadbandÂ on a limited basis later this year and to cities across the country next year. Femtocells take their name from "femto," which denotes a small order of size in physics. The idea has been around a long time but until recently was held up by size and cost concerns. Now several carriers in various countries are considering deploying them, according to vendors and analysts. While helping subscribers get good service, the devices save carriers from deploying more expensive base stations on towers just to keep up with the growing number of people trying to use 3G (third-generation) mobile data services. One question yet to be answered about femtocells is whether they will interfere with the existing outdoor cellular network. That can only be answered through real-world deployments, analysts say. Sprint's offer comes sooner and at a lower price than many observers expected. The price is especially notable because Sprint isn't forcing buyers into long-term contracts. Sprint must be subsidizing the cost, said In-Stat analyst Allen Nogee. "I guarantee it costs more than $50," Nogee said. However, the carrier will make back some of its cost through the special flat service charge, he said, because it wouldn't be making any money off the calls anyway -- many calls at home are made during nights and weekends when they are free, he added. Maybe most importantly, the Airave could help Sprint cultivate loyal customers and get consumers to give up their landlines -- along with their relationships with Verizon and AT&T, he said. Â
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The wireless airwaves may get a bit more crowded next year following the announcement that Intellisync'sÂ  goAnywhere technology, unveiled this week, will give users of low-cost feature phones the same push e-mail capability that is now only available on pricier smart phones.
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Forget pushing the envelope: Apple is likely to take it easy on its allegedly forthcoming phone, an analyst predicts. In Gear Factor.
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A new cellular application promises to help vision-impaired people who can&#39;t read the screen of a mobile phone. It responds to spoken commands with voice recognition technology and reads back menu options, text messages, and other information to the user.
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Mobile payments and banking are now moving into the U.S. through some big names, but the speedy checkout system is slow to put in place.
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The entry-level handset aims at home and office users. In Gear Factor.
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A European startup says it is ready to bring e-mail to low-cost cell phones.