Sony Ericsson to bundle Google's Blogger.com

This week, Sony Ericsson has signed a deal with Google, which enables Sony Ericsson to integrate Google's Blogger.com and Google Web Search features on all of its future mobile phones.

This means blogger.com account holder with the new Sony Ericsson phone can write and post content to his blog on the move using the bundles software. So you can post content to your blog even on a vacation, travel or away from the computer. This is the first any mobile handsent manufacturer providing this kind of features related to blogging. This shows how popular is blogging in the present internet era and it looks like surely this is going to be a hit feature.

"We are seeing exponential growth in blogging and consumers are turning more and more often to the Internet as a means of sharing information or images in personal blogs”, said Jan Wäreby, Corporate Executive Vice President, Head of Sales and Marketing, Sony Ericsson. “By working with Google, we're able to offer a quick and easy way for people users to blog as they discover how convenient it is as a way to share words and pictures with friends, family and beyond. We are also delighted to collaborate with Google, the undisputed leader in Web Search, to provide our end users with relevant internet information directly to their Sony Ericsson handsets."

From now, Google will become the standard search engine for all new Sony Ericsson internet-capable phones. Sony Ericsson is the latest company to announce that it will feature Google software on its handsets.
The announcement comes after Motorola and Vodafone have said that they too would be offering users access to Google Search.

Image and news source: http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/news.php?newsId=2647

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NTT DoCoMo hits 2.5Gbps in 4G trial

NTT DoCoMo says it managed to transmit data at 2.5Gbps to a moving vehicle in recent tests of a new wireless data technology.
The tests involved using MIMO (multiple-input multiple-output) and are part of the Japanese carrier's research into so-called fourth generation (4G) wireless technology. MIMO involves sending data using multiple antennas -- six transmission antennas in the case of the DoCoMo trial -- to increase the total throughput.

The tests involved a vehicle traveling at 20 kilometers per hour (12mph) and took place at the company's research and development center in Yokosuka, Japan, on Dec. 14 last year but were not reported until Thursday.

Last year the carrier reported it had achieved 1Gbps transmission throughput so the latest figures are a significant improvement on that result. In addition to increasing the number of antennas from four to six, the data volume per transmission was also increased from four bits to six bits, said NTT DoCoMo (Profile, Products, Articles).

As a result the frequency spectrum efficiency, which measures how much data can be transmitted in a single Hertz of bandwidth, increased from 10 bits per second per Hertz last time to 25 bits per second per Hertz this time.

2.5Gbps is a very high dataspeed compared to today standards. But 4G is now nowhere visible in the near future, it will take many years before we see this in practical.

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WiMAX Forum awards 802.16e test contract

WiMAX product certification lab Cetecom Spain and U.K.-based Aeroflex have won a joint contract from the WiMAX Forum to develop the protocol conformance test solution for the 802.16e standard, which will be the basis for Mobile WiMAX.

The companies will market a base station emulator for the protocol conformance testing of mobile stations that will execute ETSI-approved TTCN-3 test cases, the companies said in a statement. Early functionality will be available to support development efforts, and a fully functional system will follow later. The solution will be ready in the second half of 2006, and is expected to be used in the initial certification of Mobile WiMAX products in late 2006, according to Cetecom, which is currently involved in ongoing certification testing for Fixed WiMAX products.

In October 2005, Aeroflex and CETECOM entered into a long-term, global distribution partnership under which Aeroflex became the sole worldwide sales and support channel for Cetecom’s MINT RF conformance test platform for 2G/2.5G/3G mobile handsets.

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IP Communications Consortium (IPCC) becomes IMS Forum

The International Packet Communications Consortium (IPCC), an international trade association dedicated to the advancement of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) over broadband cable, wireline and wireless technologies, announced its transition to the IMS Forum -- The Voice of IP Convergence.
The mission of the IMS Forum will be to accelerate the adoption of IP Multimedia Subsystems (IMS) by providing an environment for discussion and resolution of real-world implementation issues, such as interoperability and standards-based architectures in the application layer. The Forum will also provide consultancy and expertise to the industry on best practices and approaches for IMS rollouts, interconnectivity and convergence.
“With VoIP proliferation continuing at a very aggressive rate, it has become quite clear that we are going through a major transition toward IP multimedia convergence and are witnessing the dawn of a new era of communications driven by bundled services, applications, multimedia content delivery, and telecommunications convergence,” said Michael Khalilian, chairman and president of the IMS Forum.
The IMS Forum is comprised of service providers, solutions providers, system integrators and government agencies translating industry standards into revenue generating services. Our members develop cost-effective technical frameworks for converged IP services over wireline, cable, 3G, WiFi and WiMAX networks.
Just after few days after the latest buzz about IMS technology buzz at 3GSM world congress, this is an interesting move to watch out for. Lets hope the IMS forum will live upto its mission.

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Top stories from the 3GSM, Barcelona - Part 2

1. More music from O2
2. Phone SIMs, 3GSM to be integrated in notebooks
3. China limbers up with 3G licenses
4. Lucent Selects Ubiquity’s SIP application serve for IPMS
5. MetaSolv lays out IMS play
6. Alcatel unveils mobile WiMAX base station
7. New records in attendance for the 3G World Congress
8. Rogers Communications selects Ericsson for UMTS/HSDPA in canada
9. GSMA touts video sharing tests

More music from O2

O2 has been clarifying some of its latest moves in the music space, at 3GSM Barcelona. It also hosted a gig from latest boy band signing – Upper Room.

To more closely identify with its customerbase, O2 has decided to actively sponsor a four piece band from Brighton called Upper Room. They played a live gig to the assembled suits from the 3GSM show in a swish Barcelona nite club last night.

It's hoped the move will trigger more of the UK's youth to actively follow O2's music offerings on both its WAP site (O2 Active) and its i-mode site. O2 recently said it had over 100K users and 130 sites on its i-mode portal.

Head of content management with O2, Graham Riddell, also revealed that O2's recently announced support for the Loudeye platform uses the Beast's DRM technology.

That means you can download the same music track to your mobile phone, your PC and your personal music player. As long as they support Windows Media Player, of course.


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Phone SIMs, 3GSM to be integrated in notebooks

The GSM Association and chip giant Intel said they will push the standard for notebook machines so that people can connect and roam across mobile networks around the world.

The trade association and Intel are developing reference guides to integrate 3G modems and SIM cards into laptops making it a bit easier to connect if you're out of range of a hotspot.

Every notebook will be SIM ready - according to Rob Conway, the chieftain of the GSM Association. He said that laptops with connectivity to 3GSM will make secure authentication and connection just that bit easier.

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China limbers up with 3G licenses

China is anticipated to issue 3G licenses by June this year to ensure it has a cutting-edge mobile phone infrastructure in place for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

This move would generate $12 billion in spending on new equipment, and has been the talk of the 3GSM mobile trade fair in Barcelona this week.

Though China has the pressing deadline of the Olympics, which will mark its high-profile launch onto the world stage, it is keen to push its homegrown 3G mobile communications intellectual property. This standard, TD-SCDMA is still being tested which is why China is being slow to divvy up its 3G licences.

The Chinese government has to decide whether to push ahead with the commercially unproven TD-SCDMA standard, or opt for the European standard WCDMA. There is also the US standard, CDMA 2000.

Some industry watchers believe China will hedge its bets and build networks based on both WCDMA and CDMA 2000, with TD-SCDMA used more for support rather than as a stand-alone system.


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Lucent Selects Ubiquity’s SIP application serve for IPMS

Lucent Technologies has formally selected Ubiquity’s SIP application server for the vendor’s growing IP Multimedia Subsystem portfolio, agreeing to resell the server to its carrier customers and to further work on integrating the SIP technology with its own architecture. Ubiquity has been working with Lucent, IBM and other vendors and integrators as ecosystem partners, but today’s Lucent announcement is the first time Lucent has agreed to an OEM deal with the vendor.

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MetaSolv lays out IMS play

MetaSolv Software used the backdrop of the 3GSM World Congress this week to present its strategy for IP multimedia subsystem, or IMS, support in convergent activation and mediation. The company also introduced Mediation 5, a new version of its mediation application designed for multi-service 3G wireless, IP, voice-over-IP and traditional voice networks.

MetaSolv, which was named this week by analyst firm, OSS Observer in its report "Market Share: Global OSS Market Leadership in 19 Segments," as the market leader in service activation and the runner-up in service fulfillment, will position its IMS solutions as those that can achieve the holy grail of automated service delivery.

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Alcatel unveils mobile WiMAX base station

Alcatel became the first vendor out of the gate with a mobile WiMAX portfolio. At the 3GSM World Congress, it took the cover off of an Evolium base station built to the recently finalized IEEE 802.16e standards.

Though not technically mobile WiMAX, since the WiMAX Forum has not even set a date for the technology’s certification, Evolium is the first product built with an eye toward the upcoming specification. It is not, however, the first 802.16e to hit the market. Korea’s WiBro technology is built under the IEEE’s standards also, and LG and Samsung already have live networks running in Korea and at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy.

Alcatel said the base station would be available for commercial deployment in mid-2006. The vendor has been working closely with chipmaker Intel to develop interoperable CPEs and base stations. The two are now planning a co-marketing campaign to commercialize the technology.

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New records in attendance for the 3G World Congress

The GSM Association said today it has broken new records in attendance for the 3G World Congress after moving the convention from Cannes, France, to Barcelona, Spain, this year. Final attendance figures came in at 50,000 delegates, exhibitors, staff and other participants over the last four days at the Fira de Barcelona convention center. The first day alone saw 34,900 visitors to event, compared to 24,300 at the first day of the Congress in 2005.

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Rogers Communications selects Ericsson for UMTS/HSDPA in canada

Ericsson said this week that it has been selected to be sole supplier for Rogers Communications UMTS/HSDPA build out in Canada. Rogers is Canada’s largest wireless carrier, and has used Ericsson as its primary supplier for its wireless infrastructure, while many other Canadian carriers have used homegrown vendor Nortel Networks.

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GSMA touts video sharing tests

The GSM Association (GSMA), in an initiative led by Scandinavian mobile operator TeliaSonera, has begun interoperability trials on three continents to ensure that mobile users will be able to share video across networks. Successful completion of the trials, taking place in Europe, Asia and the U.S., will ensure that video sharing services work smoothly across networks and national boundaries, the GSMA said at the 3GSM World Congress here.

The GSMA has brought together major equipment and handset-makers, including Ericsson, LG, Lucent, Motorola, Nokia, NEC, Samsung, Siemens and Sony-Ericsson, for the trials to ensure that this service will work across as many mobile devices as possible. Intel Corp. and other firms also are participating in the trials.

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Top stories from the first 2 days of 3GSM, Barcelona.

1. Mobile operators promise IM for all
2. Nokia merges its cdmaOne business with Sanyo
3. BenQ EF91 HSDPA handset announced
4. Nokia and Vodafone team to promote S60
5. Cingular announces global 3G roaming
6. Nokia unveils wi-fi phone for mass market
7. Skype gets serious with three deals
8. Nokia scores global IMS deal with Vodafone

For details read below:

Mobile operators promise IM for all
Fifteen of the world's largest mobile phone operators, including Orange, T-Mobile and Vodafone, have signed a deal to include common standards for instant messaging (IM) interoperability.
The deal, which consists of 32 letters of intent, will see common IM protocols shared between operators so that customers from their networks can chat using IM. The services will also be strengthened to limit the effects of spam and virus attacks.

"Thanks to this coordinated IM campaign, more than 700 million mobile subscribers will eventually have access to an IM service that is intuitive, reliable, secure and will work across networks," said Rob Conway, chief executive of the GSM Association.
"Crucially, users will only pay to send, not receive, messages, meaning that they can easily control their spending and minimise spam."

The 'Personal IM' service was launched at a combined press conference at 3GSM in Barcelona. India will be the first country to benefit from the service, since the majority of its mobile operators have signed up.

Nokia merges its cdmaOne business with Sanyo
It Seems that Nokia has got bored playing in the cdmaOne handset business and has found a way out. It's going to merge its cdmaOne handset business with that of Japan's Sanyo. Hopefully to create a new dominant player.
That's exactly what Sony and Ericsson thought they were doing with their GSM handset divisions when they combined to form Sony Ericsson.It didn't quite work like that – the original Sony Ericsson joint venture lost market share like mad before making a successful recovery. That's probably what will happen with the new Nokia Sanyo venture.

Common sense would dictate that the new venture should still be called Nokia, though, because of the brand. But we shall see. It's a clear indication that the economies of scale are retreating when it comes to making cdmaOne and CDMA2000 handsets, however.

BenQ EF91 HSDPA handset announced
BenQ announced its first HSDPA phone at 3GSM, the EF91. The company is calling it the first HSDPA phone, but both LG and Samsung were showing off HSDPA equipped phones at CES. Discounting the claim, the EF91 is still quite a high-end handset:

* 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus
* miniSD card slot
* QVGA screen with 262K colors
* Bluetooth with support for stereo headsets
* HSDPA with video call support

The BenQ EF91 is scheduled to begin shipping this summer. Prices will vary by local.
BenQ announced another handset at the show, a music phone called the EF51.

Nokia and Vodafone team to promote S60
Nokia and Vodafone this morning announced a partnership to increase the adoption of the S60 phone platform. By making more Vodafone handsets S60 the carrier will have an easier time making the customizations and value adds that carriers love.

Nokia and Vodafone will develop a Vodafone-specific software complement on top of the S60 platform. The collaboration also includes the expansion of the licensee base and increased portfolio penetration through open roadmap governance and establishes a strong independent brand position for both the S60 software and the supporting developer activities.

By the end of February, Nokia estimates that it will have sold 50 million S60 devices. Vodafone is the world's second largest mobile phone carrier with approximately 180 million customers across five continents (China Mobile is the largest with over 200m customers).

Cingular announces global 3G roaming
Cingular Wireless announced a global 3G data plan aimed at business travelers. Starting next month Cingular will offer a GlobalConnect data plan that features unlimited domestic use and up to 100MB/month of usage on partners' networks in Europe and Asia.A data card (Option GlobeTrotter GT MAX LaptopConnect card) is bundled and it operates on the following networks: HSDPA, UMTS, EDGE, WiFi and GPRS. The card costs $99 with a 2-year service contract.

Nokia unveils wi-fi phone for mass market
The world's largest mobile handset manufacturer, Nokia, on Monday unveiled a mass-market phone capable of switching between wi-fi and GSM. The N6136 handset, launched at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona, is a UMA device that will let users make voice over IP (VoIP) calls when the phone detects a wi-fi hotspot. It is thought the emergence of such devices will encourage operators to roll-out high-bandwidth services: wi-fi, in theory, can support speeds of up to 50Mbps."Internet voice is going mobile," said Jorma Ollila, Nokia's chief executive. "UMA gives users an alternative to PC-based VoIP," he added.

Skype gets serious with three deals
The darling of the Voice over IP (VoIP) revolution, Skype, announced a deal with Hutchison 3 today that will put the consumer application on Skype-enabled mobile devices.It also announced Skype for Pocket PC 2.0 which will allow users to talk to other Skype users - or Skypers - with any Windows Mobile Pocket PC wireless device.Finally, Skype announced a new distribution and retail programme with Dangaard Telecom that intends to release "a huge new retail presence in Europe for Skype certified products."

Nokia scores global IMS deal with Vodafone
Finnish vendor Nokia, today revealed it has won a contract with the Vodafone Group to deliver its IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) to Vodafone operations worldwide.Under the agreement, Nokia will become preferred supplier of Vodafone's IMS network architecture and Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) technology that will enable Vodafone to roll out next generation services, such as Presence, List Management services and VoIP. The first deployments of IMS are expected during 2006, Nokia said.

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What to expect from 3GSM World Congress, Barcelona

The official 3GSM World Congress 2006 has kicked off in Barcelona. 3GSM 2006 is being held in Barcelona this year and is being attended by every major wireless mobile phone handset manufacturer in the world. This year's event is shaping up to be one of the biggest and busiest ever, with plenty of new technologies, services and gadgets to make their debut in this event.
We can expect a flurry of announcements from Europe's largest wireless mobile show ever.

What to expect? There are many.

Some of the themes talked about last year will surface as products this year, including HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access) mobile phones, dual-mode handsets supporting both GSM and Wi-Fi technologies, handsets capable of receiving broadcast TV signals(T-DMB - Terrestrial Digital Multimedia Broadcasting). Mobile TV, mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), mobile search and discovery and the roadmap to 4G will be some of the hottest themes at this year's 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona, according to many industry experts.

Hottest themes:

HDSPA:
Despite all the excitement about new services and applications, it is worth remembering that 3GSM is first and foremost a wireless technology show. As such, much of the exhibition will be devoted to HSDPA, a new, even higher speed version of 3G.
Japan's NTT DoCoMo, never one to miss an opportunity to show its eagerness for using the latest technologies, will demonstrate HSDPA handsets from Fujitsu, Motorola and NEC. The 'super 3G' phones are capable of downloading data at 3.6Mbps (megabits per second) on the move, a rate nearly 10 times faster than present 3G (third-generation).

Dual Mode:
Nokia is one of several vendors expected to unveil new dual-mode 3G and Wi-Fi phones in Barcelona. The vendors are responding to demand from telecom companies that own wireless and wireline networks and are keen to offer dual-mode phones to keep customers using both.

Mobile TV/T-DMB:
Of the mobile broadcast TV solutions on offer, digital mobile broadcast (DMB) has stolen a march on the market and is expected to be the technology of choice for the next couple of years in a number of markets worldwide. Competing broadcast technologies DVB-H and Qualcomm MediaFLO solution may then be able to compete effectively, once complex issues such as regulation, capacity and spectrum planning have been overcome, continues McQueen.

Added to this mix are the cellular network TV offerings, which may prove to be a cost-effective alternative for the operators once faster data networks are rolled out and multicast solutions are implemented. Indeed, this option may prove preferable for operators a Korean mobile operator has already voiced fears that mobile TV could erode future revenues from 3G.

At 3GSM, Samsung will unveil what it claims will be the first mobile phone for the European market supporting the T-DMB (Terrestrial Digital Multimedia Broadcasting) standard, one of two planned in Europe.

The competing broadcast mobile TV standard is DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting – Handheld), which is supported by Nokia, Motorola, NEC and Sony Ericsson.

Open-source and Push-Email:
Open-source software, including the Linux operating system, is expected to surface in several new handsets targeting both the business and consumer markets. Trolltech AS, which in 2004 agreed to deliver its embedded Linux development platform to Motorola, plans to make an announcement in Barcelona. On the application front, open source is also coming to push email, another hot technology in the mobile phone sector.

Interest in push email has grown significantly among operators and enterprises alike, fuelled by the popularity of the BlackBerry technology developed by RIM. And while RIM impatiently waits for a resolution in its patent infringement lawsuit, rivals are seizing the opportunity to win over BlackBerry customers.

VoIP:

Another hot topic is VoIP (voice over IP) technology. A growing force in the fixed-line market, VoIP is on its way to the mobile market.

Skype, a household word for fixed-line VoIP, has been reaching out to collaborate with mobile phone operators and handset manufacturers. The company, which was acquired last year by eBay, is holding a news conference in Barcelona.

High-speed Networking:
Speed continues to be a big issue in mobile communicaitons, especially for data services. Several vendors plan to use the Barcelona event to show their high-speed networking systems.

MVNO:
The emergence of the MVNO model has taken the whole industry by surprise in the last 12-18 months and is having a significant impact on mobile markets in Europe and North America. In Germany, Informa believes there could be as many as 50 MVNOs by the end of this year. Many operators see the rise of MVNOs as an opportunity to secure new revenues by selling wholesale network capacity and retail strategies. But whilst the MVNOs may extend operator reach, particularly into niche markets where they are not traditionally strong, they are also forcing them to review their underlying cost structures.
Many giants in the area are going to demonstrate their capabilities and strategies.

Road map to 4G:
Many of the vendors at trhe 3GSM, will also be giving their visions of a roadmap to 4G.

Other than the above, there is growing interest in mobile search and discovery as operators realise their interests may be best served by helping their customers find content they want rather than pushing specific content to them on their portal. Companies like Yahoo!, exhibiting at the show for the first time, and Google seem intent on replicating the success of their Internet pay-per-click advertising model on the mobile internet.
Mobile location technology and application providers, meanwhile, are making comeback at 3GSM this year. More than 150 million phones are in use today with embedded GPRS technology that gives the potential to use location as a context for services such as mobile search and discovery.

Surely 3GSM World Congress is all set to announce plenty of new and interesting technologies, exciting services and hottest gadgets to make their debut. Lets hope for the best out of it.

Related Links:
3GSM World Congress

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3GSM World Congress and MVNOs

3GSM world Congress is set to start in three days from now(Barcelona from 13-16 Feb 06).
We can expect lot of new technologies and gadgets display at the congress. And with the current growing trend of Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO), it will interesting to see MVNOs andMobile Virtual Network Enablers (MVNE) at the congress. There are many events shceduled in the related context. Featured speakers during the congress also include some very interesting small companies from the domain.
Here are a couple of small/medium MVNO/VOIP related or MVNO companies I came across that are participating in the congress:

http://www.blueslice.com
http://www.visagemobile.com

Let me know if you know others.

Lets wait and watch for the big event and hope for the best out of it.

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Pay Per Click Ads Go Mobile with AdMob

After the success of the pay per click (PPC) ad programs Yahoo YPN, Google Adsense, Chitika Minimalls and others , now they are reaching mobiles also. AdMob brings mobile advertisers together with content publishers. Advertisers reach consumers right on their phone and target by region, manufacturer, platform, or device capability level. Publishers can monetize their existing mobile products and services.

This is what AdMob says about the program:

"To put it bluntly, we simply feel that it's about time that everyone had an easy and cost-effective way to reach out to people on mobile devices. That's what AdMob is all about.

We actively partner with high quality, high traffic, independent mobile sites to carry our ads. This is not about a carrier deal or a proprietary portal; this is the open mobile web, the way it should be.

To make your ads as effective as possible we have developed a number of unique technologies that will change the way you think about mobile advertising.

You get what you pay for :
But in a good way. Everyone is familiar with pay-per-click advertising on the web, but AdMob is the first time this concept has been taken mobile. With AdMob, there is finally a way to reach a highly desireable audience of mobile users who are active on the mobile web."

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More on HSDPA for Laptops

Last week Dell announced its plans to embed Vodafone's 3G wireless broadband technology in notebook PCs sold in the UK, France, and Germany which is expected to release in the first half of this year. This High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) capability boost the 3G dataspeeds by approx 4 times. This news becomes significant with respect to announcements of HSDPA connectivity based on the usual data card form factor that we are used to seeing with 3G and GPRS.

Basically, it is an upgrade to existing 3G networks that were originally built out in Europe based on the UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) standard. 3G networks upgraded to HSDPA are anticipated to deliver three to four times the data capacity and three to four times the data access rates of UMTS.

HSDPA also significantly reduces network latency, the delay associated with response to network requests, which further boosts the performance of bandwidth consuming applications such as Web browsing over HTTP. Together with better in-building coverage and improved QoS management, the end result should be a dramatically enhanced user experience, and a network that is able to tolerate high network loads at busy times much more effectively.

HSDPA rollout is set to gain momentum as we go through the second half of the year, though timescales vary between operators and indications are that it will take some time before 3G networks are fully upgraded. From that point onwards, new cell sites commissioned as the physical 3G networks continue to expand will be HSDPA enabled. In terms of HSDPA coverage, we can expect the kind of rollout schedule we have seen before with 3G - specific cities and major conurbations first, with wider coverage following. In reality though, it is likely to be well into 2007 before we see anything other than relatively restricted HSDPA availability.

The obvious question therefore is why anyone would be interested in buying a notebook from Dell with embedded HSDPA as soon as the middle of this year. The answer is to future proof their investment. The modules installed by Dell will support UMTS and GPRS (2.5G) as well as HSDPA. They may therefore be used to connect via the commonly available cellular data standards today, while being ready to take advantage of HSDPA as coverage increases to useful levels, as it undoubtedly will during the lifetime of a new PC bought this year.

So get ready and gear up for higher wireless data speeds.

Related Links
Vodafone readies HSDPA 3G card for notebooks
Dell Puts Vodafone 3G in Euro Laptops

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