Mobile Phones

Mobile Phones, cell phones

Doing the Blackberry Limbo

March 2, 2006

Unless you don't hear or read� any news at all, you've heard about the lawsuit between Research in Motion (RIM), better known as the maker of the Blackberry, and NTP (which you probably never heard of).

NTP is suing RIM for infringing� its patents (an all-too frequent computer company situation it seems), but this time the suit has a very real effect.� Unless the companies can come to an agreement, non-government Blackberry use will be forced to shut down (unless RIM develops a work-around -- and pretty darn quick).

U.S. District Court Judge James Spender has stated that there is "no escaping that RIM has been found to be infringing NTP's patents," but he has yet to issue a decision in this case.� The net effect that Blackberry users are in a netherworld until then, and anyone considering the buying a Blackberry� as a mobile phone/PDA, is in limbo.

Posted in Mobile Phones

Nokia/Sanyo To Merge CDMA Phones

February 16, 2006

News that Nokia and Sanyo are merging their CDMA mobile phone businesses in the U.S. into a new, separate business, just makes one wonder -- what does Nokia see that others don't?

Posted in Mobile Phones

A Gadget Makes the Perfect Valentine's Day Gift

February 14, 2006

Seems like gadgets aren't such a strange Valentine's Day gift after all. According to an article in yesterday's San Francisco Chronicle, chocolates and roses are moving out of the way this year to make room for a more gadget-centric V Day.

In fact, pink and red seem to be the hot colors this year -- and I'm talking cell phones, digital cameras and the like. Apparently, a pink Motorola Razr mobile phone, for example, has been flying off of the shelves at Cingular Wireless.

Of course, these aren't the only popular colors -- black and silver do quite nicely too. Don't forget a Hallmark card to make the day complete.

Looking for some real-life stories here ...

Posted in Digital Cameras, Mobile Phones

Mobile phone to Skype calls

February 14, 2006

Interesting bit of news I thought I'd share from iSkoot that lets you call your buddy list from your mobile phone without needing your PC. They claims it is the "first Mobile-Voice To Skype Network" but I think eqo may have something to say about that "first" claim.

In any event, the iSkoot software is simply a software download to your mobile phone to enable you to make Skype calls. Currently, the following phones are supported - Nokia Series 60 handsets: 6600,
6620, 6630, 6670, 6680, 6682, 7610, N70. They also plan to soon support Motorola
RAZR, Treo, Nokia Series 40 handsets.

Here's the news...

iSkoot's Complimentary Offering is a Peer-to-Peer Network Connecting Cell Phones to PC Calls Without Custom Phones, PCs or Wi-Fi

February 14, 2006 - iSkoot, a mobile Internet phone company, today introduced the iSkoot Mobile Network, a gateway that connects cellular voice and PC-to-PC networks.

Posted in Mobile Phones, Skype

Microsoft and Skype announce new software for Windows mobile phones

February 14, 2006

Both Microsoft and Skype made announcments at 3GSM demonstrating their commitment to Windows mobile phone devices. First, Microsoft Office Communicator now has a mobile version that extends the reach of Microsoft Office Live Communications Server 2005's real-time collaboration features to Windows Mobile-based devices. This is a smart move by Microsoft and could help them achieve more market penetration of the Live Communicator client, which has been very slow in my opinion, especially when compared to Skype.

The reason? Well, Live Communications Server is certainly more business-focused than Skype, which has a consumer-focus, giving Skype a distinct advantage.

Posted in Microsoft, Mobile Phones, PDAs & Handhelds, Skype, VoIP

Global IP Sound (GIPS) is now available on the Sony Ericcson P990 phone

February 13, 2006

Global IP Sound (GIPS), a popular VoIP codec/voice engine used by Skype, Google Talk, and others, is now available on the Sony Ericcson P990 phone using the OptiMobile softclient called WBX UniPhone. I wonder if this is the first non-Windows mobile device that supports the GIPS voice engine? Anyway, check out the news.

February 13, 2006 - Global IP Sound (GIPS), the leading provider of embedded voice-processing solutions for the Voice over IP (VoIP) market, and OptiMobile, a leader in WBX-enabled services, today announced that Sony Ericsson's P990 terminal will integrate support for OptiMobile's WBX UniPhone client in order to provide convergence between WiFi and cellular networks. OptiMobile utilizes Global IP Sound's VoiceEngine Mobile within its WBX UniPhone to achieve superior voice quality for VoIP calls via WLAN.

Posted in Mobile Phones, VoIP, Wireless

Nokia 6136 dual mode phone

February 13, 2006

At the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona, Nokia unveiled the Nokia 6136 UMA device, which can switch seamlessly between GSM and WLAN networks, thus enabling users to make calls via the Internet. The UMA (Unlicensed Mobile Access) technology will enable operators to deliver voice and data services to subscribers over WLAN access networks. In other words, find a WiFi hotspot and make Internet calls over the WiFi connection instead of over the GSM network. The news didn't specify what type of VoIP applications are supported on the Nokia 6136, so it is unclear if this phone supports Skype or any other popular VoIP application

The 6136 is a quad-band phone that will connect to GSM networks at 850, 900, 1800, and 1900MHz, which means it will work in the US and Europe.

Posted in Mobile Phones, Skype, VoIP, Wireless

Microsoft killed the Blackberry Star

February 13, 2006

First there was IBM's OS/2 and then came Microsoft Windows 95/98 and OS/2 was no more. In the battle for the most used wordprocessor, Wordperfect put up a valiant fight but alas, Microsoft Office took over - same with Lotus 123 which was soon replaced with Microsoft Excel as the most popular spreadsheet program. Then came Netscape and Microsoft countered with Internet Explorer and then Netscape was no more (or at least not the same as it once was). Then came Real, a really cool streaming application with a "free" lite version and a "paid" Realplayer Plus version and Microsoft responded with Windows Media Player, a completely "free" version.

Posted in Microsoft, Mobile Phones, PDAs & Handhelds, Wireless

RSS Feeds on Mobile Phones

February 8, 2006

Sure you got your Blackberry/Crackberry which gives you your "fix" of email, and sure you got your mobile phone for voice access and Web surfing, but the truly wired folks want not only email & web access but also access to their favorite RSS feeds. Yep, I for one need my fixin' of my favorite VoIP blog feeds, gadget blog feeds, general technology news feeds, and a dab of some political blog feeds, which I access using a Windows-based RSS reader application.

But what to do when you're not on your own PC? Sure you could use Bloglines.com or some other web-based RSS reader, but what if you don't have access to ANY PC? What if all you have is your mobile phone?

Posted in Mobile Phones

Connecticut bans hand-held cellphones while driving

February 2, 2006

Connecticut is the latest U.S. state to pass legislation banning the use of hand-held devices while driving (headset required) - more than 30 other states have or plan to follow suit. This can certainly boost Bluetooth headset purchases and other wireless headsets for a hands-free cellular experience. Connecticut is also working on legislation to ban driving with handheld coffee mugs, eyeliner pencils, McDonald's paper cups, lipstick, lollipops, or even chewing gum while driving.

Posted in Mobile Phones

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