HP Brings Mobile Device Management to Enterprise Customers with Acquisition of Bitfone Corp

Hewlett-Packard has announced plans to acquire firmware-over-the-air (FOTA) technology developer Bitfone for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition will strengthen HP's enterprise offerings with mobile device management, which highlights the increasing importance of mobile devices in the core IT infrastructure of the enterprise. HP says Bitfone's technology will help its enterprise clients reduce device support costs and smooth device deployments, migration and replacement. Bitfone will be integrated into the Handheld Business Unit of HP's Personal Systems Group.

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Viacom's MTV targets mobile phone content

In a move that proves MTV is increasingly slow in responding to the kinds of youth culture phenomena it once ignited, the Viacom-owned cable network announced the launch of its Mobile Media Group division, which will develop MTV content and brands for wireless games, ringtones and video clips. The group will administrate mobile activities within MTV Networks' various cable channels (e.g. Nickelodeon, VH1 and Comedy Central) and among its domestic and foreign operations. Among its responsibilities: Mobile Junk 2.0, a new user-generated content service launching in conjunction with Sprint Nextel.

"Connecting with our consumers on every platform they love is at the heart of our digital strategy," MTV Networks CEO Judy McGrath said in a prepared statement.

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BT to re-enter mobile market with license bid - report

BT is ready to re-enter the UK mobile market five years after it hived off its O2 wireless unit, according to a report in the Independent.

The former monopoly operator is expected to bid in a forthcoming spectrum auction, details of which were announced yesterday by telecoms industry watchdog Ofcom.

It will be the largest ever sale of spectrum in the UK, although the UK government is unlikely to generate anything near the 23 bln stg it earned from the 2000 3G auction.

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China to issue phone charger standard

According to a report in the People's Daily Online, China is developing a national standard for mobile phone chargers "to avoid waste and lower costs for users." The standard should be approved before year-end. The standard expects all mobile phones, regardless of brand, to provide a USB access port for a universal charger, which will also allow for charging via laptops. The report claims the standard will not be compulsory, but the director of a lab in charge of the program, He Guili said, "We believe that the home-brands makers will give positive response to it." He said the standard may take effect during the first half of 2007.

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EU: Let consumers pick telecom standards

The EU's commissioner for information society and media, Vivian Reding, said regulators should not be the main force in charge of mandating standards: "I think it should be left to businesses to find the business models that attract consumers to opt for the services they like (most)... The GSM standard was a landmark decision... today the picture is more complex. For governments to make a viable case for choosing any standard is much more difficult." Reding also added that for WiMAX to be successful, a new degree of flexibility must be introduced to regulation: "We are a long way off this, however ...barriers are bureaucratic, not technical. It is governments' duty to get it right."

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