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Warning: technical language ahead.

Okay, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s proceed.

Ever hear of MEMS (short for Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems)? Neither had I until reading a recent report from ABI Research claiming that, starting in 2008, this technology will be all the rage in mobile handsets.

Okay, so what the heck is MEMS? Wikipedia defines it as a very small technology (most devices range in size from a millionth to a thousandth of a meter), useful in a variety of applications including inkjet printers, airbags, tire pressure sensors, disposable blood pressure sensors, and smartdust.

Apparently, MEMS also is potentially useful in mobile phones. Makes sense, since more and more functions are being packed into the handsets we carry around. It will take some very small bits and pieces to make all those applications work in a form factor that can be slipped easily into a pocket or a purse.

ABI’s report cites the size, flexibility, and performance of MEMS technology as key reasons why it will soon be part of all handsets.

Okay, so here’s a question: if MEMS is to great, why isn’t it already part of all mobile handsets?

Here’s ABI analyst Alan Varghese: “The traditional challenges for MEMS related to the difficulty of reliably manufacturing components at high volumes, effective packaging techniques, long-term device reliability, technology cost, and supply chain robustness, all of which had a damping effect on the industry. However the MEMS industry has been addressing these concerns, and innovative solutions are being offered in high volume markets such as mobile phones and consumer devices.”

ABI said in its report that MEMS has five major application areas in mobile phones:

• RF filters
• Adaptive tuning circuits
• Resonators and oscillators
• Audio microphones
• Accelerometers
• Motion sensors

Okay, did you catch all that? (If you didn’t, this detailed look at how cell phones work, from HowStuffWorks.com, may be helpful. The site also has entries for oscillators, microphones, and motion sensing lights/alarms).

One challenge does remain for the use of MEMS technology: cost of manufacturing compared to incumbent solutions. As with all technologies, though, economies of scale soon will render that barrier obsolete.

Some of the companies ABI says already are innovating in the MEMS space, and are worth watching, include:

• WiSpry – developer of MEMS-based RF capacitors, tunable filters, duplexers, and RF switches
• XCOM Wireless – focused on making the front end of mobile phones as agile and tunable as a software radio
• Avago Technologies – this company’s MEMS-based FBAR filters are useful for filtering higher frequency bands used in cellular applications
• Discera and SiTime – producers of resonator/oscillator sections for handsets
• Knowles Acoustics – currently rules the MEMS roost, but soon will be knocked from its perch by other companies such as Akustica, Sonion, and Matsushita

I’ve made a mental note to file MEMS away in my mind as an emerging technology to keep an eye on. How about you?

As is usually the case with technology, once the underlying specifications become standardized, adoption becomes widespread by both consumers and manufacturers/providers. That’s because standardization reassure people they knew what they’re getting, and that it will work the same way in a variety of applications.

Research company Parks Associates noted this fact in its recent report about the market for wireless, multimedia networking. The firm predicted that “industry adoption of next-generation specifications will provide a substantial boost to the market for wireless multimedia networking, prompting growth in excess of 50 million wireless network devices by 2010.”

Two of the specification poised to help spur the growth are next-gen WiFi and Ultra-wideband (UWB), Parks Associates said.

The firm further predicted that annual sales and shipments of wireless multimedia-capable devices (think person computers, fixed and mobile consumer electronics) will grow from 2.5 million units in 2006 to almost 52 million units by the end of 2010. Standardization in the market will play a key role in that growth.

Parks Associates analyst Kurt Scherf said in the report that several factors are driving manufacturers and service providers to embrace wireless connectivity:

• Service providers want more ownership in developing home networking solutions
• Operators need to reduce CAPEX associated with deploying home networking solutions
• New content services are on the rise
• Consumers are in favor of eliminating cables

“These are all positive signs that the 802.11n and WiMedia solutions – among the many home networking options – will continue to drive growth in new home networking applications,” Scherf said in a statement.

As an end-user, I like where things are headed. The geek in my may find the technology inside consumer electronics cool, but when it comes right down to it, in my busy life, I just want my wireless devices to work.

In a recent Sage/CMB Market Pulse newsletter, Chadwick Martin Bailey (a marketing and analytics company) reported that fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) technology is not yet mainstream in corporate America—and offered some reasons why that is.

Among those reasons:

• Demand for FMC won’t really pick up until enterprises integrate mobile devices into their corporate telephony systems; most have not yet done this.
• It may be true that business use of mobile phones is prolific, but most of those devices are not connected in any way to the corporate PBX.
• FMC won’t become mainstream in corporate America until it becomes clear that adopting the technology offers clear return on investment (ROI).
• Full-blown FMC (as opposed to cellular-only) requires comprehensive WiFI coverage and IP-PBX deployments, which aren’t available everywhere and may present prohibitive costs.

These points make it clear that much work lies ahead before the promise of FMC is realized. We’ll probably get there eventually, but not for a while.

What do you think—is FMC years away? Decades? Why?

It’s a problem most users of cell phones and other wireless devices have encountered at some point: spotty indoor network coverage. The signal that may be so strong while walking around outside or driving from Point A to Point B may be weak or nonexistent inside a house or other building.

Broadening and strengthening indoor coverage for wireless networks is the topic of a recent report from ABI Research, in which the firm notes the current and anticipated growth of the in-building wireless systems market.

Revenues from deployment of such systems, ABI says, likely will exceed $3.6 billion by 2011. Most deployments will be focused on commercial buildings. The growth of this industry will affect carriers, businesses, building owners, equipment manufacturers, and solutions providers.

ABI analyst Dan Shey noted in the report that indoor wireless coverage is about more than just convenience; it also impacts business productivity. That is why business locations will be the primary locations where networks are expanded.

The report predicts that the majority (more than 60 percent) of in-building wireless networks will be deployed using distributed antenna systems. That type of technology also will dominate more than 75 percent of equipment revenues for in-building systems.

“These systems are most economical for buildings larger than 100,000 square feet, a size where coverage and signal level capacity from outdoor networks into buildings begin to fall significantly,” ABI notes in its report.

Of course, not all buildings are larger than 100,000 square feet. For smaller structures, ABI said that repeaters will be most useful for extending network coverage. As time goes on, though, repeaters will be replaced by picocells and femtocells.

For buildings smaller than 100,000 square feet, repeaters are the primary solution; however repeater shipment growth will slow due to replacement by picocells and femtocells.

“Repeaters are a cost effective way to provide coverage inside buildings but they do not add capacity, which will be needed as 3G services usage increases,” Shey said in a statement. “New picocells and femtocells which can be backhauled via an IP connection are a cost effective way to add capacity and coverage.”

Regardless of the technology used, for most people the fact that wireless coverage will be improved indoors is a cause for celebration. What will you do once you don’t have to worry about signal fading away when you step through the doors?

Today’s news about the mobile video market comes from... drum-roll please... the East. China, more specifically.

ABI Research today released a report predicting that 2008 will be the year when the mobile video market in China really takes off. The research firm forecasts that in 2008, there will be more than 32 million mainland Chinese users of mobile video. 

ABI bases its prediction in part on the approval this year of two new handset standards by Chinese State Administration of Radio, Film and Television. The first of those, DAB, “DAB is likely to be the first phase of mobile multimedia broadcasting standards development in China,” ABI said.

Furthermore, the research firm notes, DAB “paves the way for upgrading to China's proposed mobile multimedia broadcasting standard, T-DMB, a terrestrial implementation of SK Telecom's mobile video format.”

Because adoption of DAB and T-DMB is voluntary, ABI analyst Jake Saunders predicts that media groups and TV stations will start by deploying DAB and move to T-DMB at a later date.

“The Chinese government will give preference to a standard that will be used in the 2008 Olympics, and DAB has been listed as one of the broadcast services that will be available at the Beijing Games,” Saunders noted in a statement. 

A dearth of content for systems using the new standards currently is a barrier to entry, Saunders added, but noted that the problem will disappear in the next two years. 

"The current content shortage is caused by the limited number of handset TV SP licenses,” Saunders said in the report. “When more companies obtain licenses, competition will become the lubricant to drive up the market.”

In the meantime, mobile operators in Hong Kong aren’t sitting around twiddling their thumbs when it comes to mobile video. One example is PCCW, which runs an IPTV business that looks ripe to boost the company’s performance in the 3G market.

Taking a more localized look at the matter (rather than at mainland China as a whole), ABI predicted that in 2008 there will be about 715,000 mobile video users in Hong Kong, and more than 1.5 million in Taiwan.

Here’s my conclusion based on all this: if you’re interested in getting a sense of the future of mobile video, keep at least one eye peeled to the East.

This seems to be the week of the phone. First, the long-awaited iPhone hit the market… but it turned out to be a VoIP phone from Linksys rather than a cell phone from Apple. Then, ASUSTeK Computer, Inc., launched a wireless music Skype phone in India.

Now comes news that, later this month, Samsung Electronics will be introducing in Korea what it describes as “the world's first mobile phone featuring a n optical joystick for a whole new mobile experience.”

Based on the image Samsung provides, the joystick in question appears to be something like the “J-key” integrated into some computer keyboards—a button that can be toggled around to move a cursor on the screen.

“Users utilize the optical joystick key by placing their finger and moving a cursor to navigate through the menu, similar to a cursor of a mouse on a PC ,” Samsung explained in its announcement. “Optical sensors will read and react to users' finger movement, thus breaking down the traditional four-way menu navigation and providing 360 degrees of freedom.”

Samsung is betting that the joystick will revolutionize the way users interact with their cell phones—or, more specifically, with the company’s SCH-V960 phone.

“Users can point the cursor and click directly on icons on MyScreen, similar interface to that on a PC environment, and gain direct access to frequently used menus such as photo album, messaging, and music menu,” Samsung said in its announcement. “Users can also use the Optical Joystick to easily scroll through the play list while listening to their music.”

I’ll be keeping my eye on the joystick phone. If it takes off in Korea, chances are U.S. consumers will be able to get their hands—or rather, their fingers—on the phone before long, too.

Listen up, readers in India: ASUSTeK Computer, Inc. (ASUS), a provider of digital home solutions, on Monday launched what it calls “the world’s first wireless music Skype phone,” in the Indian market.

The AiGuru S1 provides free international calls via Skype, WiFi connectivity, wireless music player functions, and remote controller features.

“The goal of digital home technologies is to share computer resource with other electronic devices around the house and provide greater convenience,” said Joe Hsieh, director of ASUS’ digital home business, in a statement. “The AiGuru S1 packed several practical features for easy and wireless access of PC functions. Skype, listen to music or even manage music library with this new product.”

ASUS in its announcement highlighted the following key advantages of AiGuru S1: 

• Wireless Skype

• Wireless music player

• Basic and advanced phone functions

In appearance, ASUS’ new phone, with its upright cradle and white color, looks a lot like any cordless home phone. The company has set a retail price of approximately Rs 7750 (roughly $174).

If you’re traveling by car this holiday season, you may be considering installing a GPS-based navigational device in your vehicle to reduce at least some of the hassles of the trip. A variety of such products are available, should you opt for an in-vehicle device.

But you may also be considering a navigational service delivered to your cell phone. One such service is TeleNav’s GPS Navigator, available now to Alltel Wireless customers using selected handsets.

Alltel announced rollout of the service earlier this month. Here’s how it works: if you own one of the supported phones (for now, BlackBerry 8703e or Samsung u520), you can subscribe to the service (unlimited use) for $9.99 per month. One-day use subscriptions also are available for $2.99 on the Samsung phone. You’ll also need an Alltel Wireless data plan (optionally, you can choose to use voice minutes). 

Once service is activated, the TeleNav GPS Navigator application can be downloaded directly to your phone.

TeleNav’s GPS Navigator includes the following features:

• Voice and on-screen turn-by-turn directions

• Biz Finder (find businesses, services, WiFi hotspots, and more)

• Fuel Finder (locate lowest gas price in five-mile or wider radius)

• Full-color moving maps (pan and zoom)

• Easy destination entry (preplan trips online, type destinations into phone using keypad, dictate destination using voice recognition system)

• Automatic map updates

• Spot marker (e.g. find your car wherever you park it)

• My Favorites (save multiple addresses for later access)

TeleNav’s director of business development, Hassan Wahla, exuded the expected enthusiasm in his statement about expanded coverage of the service to include Alltel customers: “With Alltel’s expansive wireless network and reputation of embracing advanced technologies, Alltel’s customers have come to expect the very best from their wireless service.”

Just another thing to consider this holiday season.

It’s not too late to add another item to your Christmas wish list, is it? If you’re a power laptop user, an announcement yesterday from HP and Cingular may have you dropping some last-minute hints to Santa. The two companies announced availability of the first laptop in the U.S. market with built-in mobile broadband capability.

Cingular Wireless contributed the UMTS/HSDPA technology that’s built into HP’s Compaq nc6400 Notebook PC, which “allows business professionals to connect in more areas at broadband speeds to corporate networks, email and the Internet without being tied to a wireless hotspot.”

To take advantage of the feature, you’ll need a service subscription, of course—to Cingular’s Wireless BroadbandConnect or high-speed EDGE offerings. That’s in the U.S.; the laptop also can be used abroad “in more than 115 countries in which there are UMTS or GPRS/EDGE networks available.”

The companies noted in their announcement that Cingular’s UMTS/HSDPA network is currently available in 145 major metro areas in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. The broadband network offers download speeds of 400-700 kilobits per second.

Compaq nc6400 uses a tri-band UMTS modem that supports transfer rates of up to 3.6 megabits per second. Dual antennas are integrated into the laptop, and it comes with Cingular Communications Manager software for establishing connections to Cingular’s 3G network.

Some of the other notable features of the Compaq nc6400 include:

• Wireless LAN and Bluetooth connectivity

• 14.1-inch diagonal widescreen display

• Optional HP Privacy Filter

• Intel Core 2 Duo processors

• Support of 3D graphicsMicrosoft Windows Vista capable

Ah, the rumor mill regarding the alleged Apple iPhone allegedly slated for release early in 2007… well, that rumor mill is in full swing again. This time, various reports have it that Apple will not be launching the iPhone at MacWorld Expo in January.

At least one report traces the rumor back to a Sydney Morning Herald article published today, in which reporter Asher Moses quoted CIBC World Markets analyst Ittai Kidron as having written last week that iPhone will be commercially launched late in the first quarter of 2007, or early in the second.

The Sydney Morning Herald report also noted that Wall Street analysts acknowledge even speculation about a delayed launch is affecting Apple’s share price.

Of course, all of this is predicated on the idea that Apple is, indeed, planning to introduce a cell phone/iPod combo next year. In fact, as Jupiter Research analyst Michael Gartenberg pointed out in the Herald report, Apple has never verified that there actually is an iPhone in the works.

"Is it possible to call a product that hasn't been acknowledged, much less shipped, delayed?” Gartenberg asks.

Good question.

Expectations have reached a fever pitch as MacWorld, Apple’s yearly venue for major product announcements, draws near. With Apple and its CEO Steve Jobs as tight-lipped as ever, all anyone can do is gossip about what might be the next big thing.

Phone rumors were fanned into flames anew recently when apparently “definitive” information surfaced that manufacturer Foxconn Electronics had received an order from Apple for 12 million iPhones.

And, that was on top of the fact that on August 7, Apple filed a U.S. patent for a phone/music player combo. Why, it’s enough to lead anyone to an inescapable conclusion: the iPhone must be just around the corner.

But, now, it seems more likely (at least, if you believe the Herald) that in January Steve Jobs will instead unveil a home theater content steaming device (iTV, anyone?) that was demoed at a press conference in September but has not yet been commercially launched.

Okay, everyone, hold your horses. January will be here soon enough.