Mobile operators plan iPhone rival
627352
Omnifone, a British mobile music company, will unveil a new music service Monday aimed at cell phone users who crave music while on the go, in the first of what is expected to be many challenges against Apple ...Comment
42243
Mobile search is set to explode with the entry of the iPhone and its competitors to the market. Is your site ready for mobile search?
12357
Vodafone is to kick-start a global push into 3G with an array of mobile phones that is likely to outstrip the range of handsets being sold by many of its rivals.
540272
Consumers demand the best on their phones. Here's what they can expect.
189696
(InfoWorld) - The phone many exhibitors and attendees are talking about won't even be on display at next week's 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona, the year's largest mobile industry exhibition. Software and phone developers are comparing the products they'll exhibit at the conference toÂ the iPhone, even though Apple Inc. won't be at 3GSM and the iPhone isn't available yet. Funambol Inc. plans to show off its Linux-based applications, including mobile e-mail, as an open alternative to Apple's phone, which is based on proprietary software. One handset maker, Neonode AB, says that the iPhone follows its design lead. Neonode introduced a buttonless, fully touchscreen phone in 2004 and plans to announce a new one at 3GSM. A Nokia Corp. marketing executive will sit on a panel at the conference entitled "Mobile Music: The Apple Factor." The panel could touch on the competition the iPhone will present to manufacturers such as Nokia and Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB that are already selling phones that include music players. The references to the iPhone hint at the threat it poses to existing phone makers. "Because the iPod has been so successful, it's difficult to discount the carry-through success that Apple could have in the mobile arena," said Nick McQuire, an analyst with the Yankee Group. Apple announced earlier this year that the iPhone, its highly anticipated combined music player and mobile phone, will go on sale in the U.S. in June and should reach European markets in the fourth quarter. While the threat of the iPhone might loom in the background at 3GSM, Apple's arch-rival, Microsoft Corp., may plan on trying to steal center stage. Microsoft is scheduled to make an announcement Monday and some experts suspect the software giant will introduce a new version of Windows Mobile. "It's likely they'll make some form of announcement around the next iteration of Windows Mobile 5.0. The question is when it will be ready to be shipped," McQuire said. In April last year, Microsoft said it was working on the successor toÂ Windows Mobile 5.0, code-named Crossbow. Microsoft said then that the new release would include strong links to Office 2007 and Exchange 12 and an instant messaging feature. Unconfirmed reports online suggested the operating system would be introduced either late last year or early 2007. Crossbow could also feature support for VOIP (voice over Internet Protocol), although Microsoft would be unlikely to highlight that feature because some operators discourage mobile VOIP, McQuire said. Phone makers that use software from Symbian Ltd. and Research In Motion Ltd. could react to a new Windows Mobile release by highlighting their broad device portfolios, McQuire said. Operating systems like Symbian, which can enable interoperability with Microsoft back-end programs, have an advantage over Windows Mobile because they run on a wider variety of phones, he said. New handsets introduced at the conference will likely fall into two primary categories: HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access) and enterprise devices, McQuire said. The HSDPA phones will be thin and have good battery life, an improvement over first generation 3G phones that were "clunky," he said. High Tech Computer Corp., Toshiba Corp. and Nokia may all introduce new handsets aimed at business users. With the increased use of phones by business users to access corporate data comes concern over security. A number of companies including Spansion Inc., Discretix Ltd., AdaptiveMobile Ltd., McAfee Inc. and Trend Micro Inc. all plan to highlight mobile security issues and products. In addition, more and more phones come with support for Wi-Fi, enabling services that can roam between mobile and Wi-Fi networks. A number of companies plan to introduce or exhibit products that support some facet of a converged Wi-Fi and mobile service. Boingo Wireless Inc. will introduce software for developers that will enable use of its Wi-Fi roaming network from Symbian and Linux phones. Kineto Wireless Inc. will also exhibit at the conference and Shanghai company E28 Ltd. plans to introduce its second generation of dual-mode Linux-based phones.
217103
Developers will get to write applications for the iPhone. Sort of.
307735
LG's new attempt at an 'iPhone killer' looks a lot like Apple's device but also supports 3G cellular data connections.
445977
UniquePhones is writing an app that will let customers use a carrier other than AT&amp;T with the iPhone.
663026
A group of hackers said they will soon sell software allowing Apple&#39;s iPhone to be used with any cellphone carrier, skirting AT&amp;T&#39;s exclusive deal in the United States.
484798
There's more to gain than lose from the upcoming iPhone.
192762
Apple iPhone will enable mobile networks to increase their customer base, analyst says.
770062
Walls come tumbling down A UK firm that specialises in unlocking mobile phones reckons it's close to developing an application that would allow iPhone users to use the device with carriers other than AT&amp;T.â¦
556246
Apple Inc.  aims to build on  the success of its iPod music player with the new iPhone  wireless device, but it faces a crowded and competitive market  in taking on established cell phone makers.
679644
(InfoWorld) - An executive in Microsoft's entertainment and games division Tuesday hinted that Microsoft may be developing its own Windows Mobile OS-based rival to Apple's iPhone. Speaking at Citi's annual Global Technology Conference in New York on Tuesday, Mindy Mount, corporate vice president and CFO for Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division, said it's not "unreasonable" to think that Microsoft will integrate photo, music, and touchscreen features into a Windows Mobile product in the future, though she declined to comment on the specifics of when or what that might look like. Microsoft's idea with Windows Mobile has been to move everyday business capabilities, such as accessing e-mail, from the PC to the mobile device. However, most people "tend to have one phone for personal as well as work [use]," Mount said. "Being able to do pictures and music is something that consumers are going to want, so it's a natural thing for us to want in our product roadmap." Microsoft is rumored to be evolving its Zune multimedia player -- its rival to the iPod -- with new features out by the holiday time at the end of the year, though Mount declined to confirm this on Tuesday. But a hybrid product melding Zune, which so far has had lackluster response from consumers, with Windows Mobile features is not completely unrealistic for the future. Microsoft has already worked with hardware partners to develop Windows Mobile handsets with touchscreen capabilities that are similar to the iPhone's. For example, the HTC Touch from High Tech Computer is one of the latest Windows Mobile devices to offer users the ability to use a touchscreen to scroll through e-mail and contacts and browse Web pages. But the HTC Touch smartphone, which is available in the U.K., Europe, and Asia and should makes its North American debut later this year, doesn't have the type of multimedia capabilities that give the iPhone an edge over rival smartphones, at least in the short term. Market research firm iSuppli said Tuesday that in July, its first full month of release, the iPhone outsold popular competitors, such as the Research in Motion Blackberry and Palm Treo devices. Regarding RIM, comments Mount made Tuesday also seemed to shoot downÂ speculation last week that Microsoft is in talks to purchase the Canadian maker of mobile hardware and software. "We don't comment on rumors, but what I would ask people is what that really gets you," she said. Much of RIM's success has been with the device portion of its BlackBerry business, whereas Microsoft has been very successful with using third parties to build its Windows Mobile devices, Mount said. The company sold 11 million Windows Mobile licenses last year and expects to do 20 million in the current fiscal year. "We're pretty happy with that roadmap right now," she said. That roadmap so far does not include Microsoft offering hardware for its Windows Mobile OS, which also means if the company did release an iPhone rival based on Windows Mobile, it's unclear whether it would be through a third party or from the company itself. Still, if the Xbox 360, Zune, and Milan table-top computer with touchscreen features the company previewed earlier this year are any indication, Microsoft seems to be warming up to the idea of offering consumer hardware devices alongside its traditional software, so an iPhone rival from the vendor is within the realm of possibility.
237944
We'll show you how to spruce up your handset so that it rivals an iPhone.
419338
Soon there will be two iPhones on the market. Each will do different things, but at least the companies behind them won't be squabbling over who can use the name and how.
696452
Eyeing the success of Apple's iPod and its iTunes music service, the mobile phone industry is betting on music downloads as a way of boosting revenues from the faster "3G" networks and handsets now becoming widely available.