Nokia set to announce WiFi Google Talk app

Nokia is reportedly adding Google's Talk application to its Internet Tablet device, which has become a popular WiFi device with consumers. According to reports, Nokia plans to announce tomorrow an upgraded version of the device that will come pre-loaded with Google's Talk service to allow voice services and IM capabilities. Last week Google executives said they weren't interested in launching an MVNO or creating a Google phone, but the company does want to extend services to as many wireless devices as possible. Google Talk can already be used on BlackBerry mobile devices from Research In Motion. Read more!

LBS mobile games on the rise

Location-based services (LBS) can spice up nearly every type of mobile content, but none more than mobile gaming. To wit, Amp'd Mobile just announced an LBS-enabled game at E3 called PhoneTag that allows users running around city streets to track other players on maps displayed on their mobiles. Participants can virtually "kill" other players in the massive multiplayer game. Amp'd teamed up with actors Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's LivePlanet company to develop the game concept. Each player is assigned one target to track and capture, while a different player is tracking down that player--like a daisy chain. The last player "standing" wins. It's not entirely clear to me how one virtually "kills" another, but the game also offers invisibility screens, decoys, infrared goggles, scanners and, yes, even bloodhounds. Virtual ones, of course.

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Nokia Mobile Web Server: Web server on your phone

The Nokia Research Center is well under way on a project to put a web server on a handset. Nokia's grandiose vision: "If every mobile phone or even every smartphone initially, is equipped with a webserver then very quickly most websites will reside on mobile phones. That is bound to have some impact not only on how mobile phones are perceived but also on how the web evolves." That impact may very well be that every time a commuter goes into a tunnel their personal Web site goes down until their handset reconnects with the network.

Nokia is one of the few big companies that still invests in "blue sky" research, but the project is still one worth exploring seriously. However, until networks are more rugged, Nokia's vision is a long way off. Rumors of the project started circling the Internet in early January, but Nokia has just made the client available for public download.

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Malasia: 3G on your notebook

MULTIMEDIA Prospect Sdn Bhd recently announced the availability of the Sierra Wireless AirCard 850, a PC Card for accessing 3G HSDPA services.

The AirCard 850 works on HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) networks, and it utilises the 2100MHz frequency band for Asian users.

Multimedia Prospect said the product has been tested with the 3G services offered by local telcos Maxis and Celcom.

The AirCard 850 is also backward compatible with EDGE, GPRS and GSM networks, on all four frequency bands – 850, 900, 1800, and 1900MHz.

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Walt Disney Internet Group To Launch UK Family Mobile Service

The Walt Disney Internet Group said it's creating a mobile phone service in the U.K. similar to what it announced in the U.S in the fact that its targeted at families. Disney Mobile will use the O2 network and will launch later this year. Like the service in the U.S., Disney's service will include family entertainment content and the ability to control children's access to the Internet and chat rooms as well as control voice access and airtime.

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First Commercial 3G UMTS DVB-H Handset

LG Electronics announced the launch of the LG-U900, the world’s first commercially available UMTS (WCDMA) DVB-H phone, at a ceremony in Rome, Italy. The LG-U900 will be available early May through Hutchison, a leading global telecommunications services provider, in time for the 2006 World Cup.

Hutchison Italy, the country’s largest 3G telecommunications provider, has exclusive DVB-H broadcasting rights for the 2006 World Cup. The company will provide video footage of all World Cup matches beginning June 6, through the Hutchison’s service channels, ‘La3’.

Hutchison plans to offer the LG UMTS (WCDMA) DVB-H phone to customers world-wide, after initially establishi ng a base in Italy.

Mr. Mun-Hwa Park, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company, said: “We are so proud that LG is supplying the world’s first commercially available UMTS (WCDMA) DVB-H phone through Hutchison Italy. LG has already proven its unrivalled mobile multimedia technology in 3G markets by introducing a seri es of first-of-their-kind models including SDMB and TDMB handsets. LG will continue to introduce advanced te chnology that is second-to-none in the mobile TV industry.”

Mr. Vincenzo Novari, the CEO of Hutchison Italia said at the ceremony, “With support from LG Electronics, our company will strengthen its leadership in the 3G mobile communication market.”

LG’s new LG-U900 DVB-H handset features a 2.2-inch ‘wide-swing’ screen for mobile TV viewing. Its premium digital broadcasting functions include ESG (Electronics Service Guide) and CAS (Conditional Access System).

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Actual TV on 3G phones

LG Electronics has launched its LG-U900, the world’s first commercial WDCMA phone which can receive terrestrial digital video broadcast (DVB)-H in Rome at the end of April, and it will be made available in time for the 2006 World Cup this month.

Unlike IP-TV which is streamed over the 3G network, DVB is transmited one-to many from TV station to phone like regular TV, except that it’s digital, and it’s received directly by a separate DVB receiver in the phone, much like current FM radios in or attached to GPRS phones do today.

Thus DVB can be received independently of mobile networks and only your feedback and selections, requests, voting, etc are sent back over the network, which forces operators to think of other ways to make money.

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Sony Ericsson Head Says “A TV In Every Cellphone”

Miles Flint, President of Sony Ericsson, believes that mobile TV is coming to all cellphones in a few years. Could it be that SE is working on their own, proprietary system and this is a warning shot from deep within their Swedish bowels? Possibly.

When will it happen, you ask? 2007 or 2008. I’m thinking it won’t happen in the US until we get some sort of DMB system installed or XM/Siruis or even some of the old guard satellite TV folks start streaming something we want to watch. Video over 3G probably won’t be the best solution, but it’s also a potential winner.

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Helio Bundles Yahoo Into 3G Service Phones

HELIO LLC and Yahoo Inc.announced a relationship to give Helio members access to one of the most extensive suites of Yahoo! services available from any mobile brand.


Helio members will stay connected to their favorite Yahoo! services such as Yahoo! Search, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! Messenger, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Sports and more on Helio's 3G services.

In addition, Yahoo! and Helio will co-market the services across the Yahoo! network and other Helio marketing channels. The marketing efforts will showcase how easily Yahoo! users can extend their experience into the mobile environment with Helio's 3G network and high-end devices.

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3 to provide user-gen content for Sky, ITN

Continuing to leverage its recently launched citizen journalism services, U.K. operator 3 is in talks with Sky News and ITN to provide the news networks with video clips of newsworthy stories from its subscribers' video camcorder phones. The deal aims to create a direct channel for any 3 subscriber in the midst of a big news event, as opposed to the networks relying on viewers to send in clips, which they did during Hurricane Katrina and the tsunami two years ago. 3's SeeMe TV service allows subscribers to upload video clips for others in the network to view and vote on. The service also recently signed a deal with MSN Spaces to showcase some of the best content online. But most of these clips are gags or attempts at humor--this deal would carry a solicitation for more powerful, newsworthy clips.

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Pure-play wireless carriers eye DSL

Pure-play mobile operators like O2 and Vodafone in Europe are looking to enter the fixed broadband market through local loop unbundling options that allow them to attain and deploy DSL equipment. Vodafone's management restructuring last week included a new division headed by CTO Thomas Geitner that will focus on converged IP services and IMS and a centralized service delivery platform architecture, which it couldn't do if it was simply wholesaling a DSL provider's services. Reports circling the Internet claim that Alcatel has already made a pitch to Vodafone and other vendors may have, too.

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Content is the key to Mobile TV

Persistently declining voice revenues, exacerbated by the need to pay off expensive 3G licences, mean that operators will seize any opportunity to generate data revenues. Mobile TV and video provides many revenue streams and, with the right content strategies and business models in place, promises to have mass market appeal.

Despite the well-documented convergence that is now taking place in order to facilitate the provision of mobile TV and video services, there is a fundamental difference between the telecoms and television industries; whereas the telecoms industry has been technology-led, the television industry has been content-led. It is becoming apparent that the provision of quality content and the strength of brands will be what drives uptake of mobile TV, rather than technology per se. Although technology is an important enabler, content is what is really important. Mobile operators must adjust their focus to this end.

If players in the value chain do not get their content strategies right, mobile users will simply not be interested in mobile TV. In a nutshell, content must be compelling. This is the core theme of a new management report from Informa Telecoms & Media, which brings together the latest research and current market information from around the world.

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DoCoMo Tests WiMAX And HSDPA Handovers.

Just as the world starts to catch up with Japan…DoCoMo has applied for a license to test WiMax network (IEEE 802.16e) for its mobile customers. The trial is intended to determine:
–Assess throughput and wireless transmission characteristics according to the distances between a handset and base station, and handset moving speed.
–Verify the optimal wireless parameters and base station allocations to obtain maximum results.
–Assess the possibility of interference from existing satellite communication systems, such as WideStar
–Confirm continuous connections during handover within the WiMAX system or between WiMAX and other systems, such as HSDPA.

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PayPal for mobile in beta

eBay's online payment service PayPal launched a mobile payment service that includes person-to-person money transfers and "Text To Buy," which allows users to order products through SMS that they see advertised "on a poster, in a magazine, at an event." PayPal's mobile debut has long been expected, but the Text To Buy feature was a surprise to many. To try out PayPal Mobile:

• Go to PayPal.com and sign in.
• Add a new phone to your profile and mark it as a mobile.
• When prompted, confirm that you would like to use it to make payments.
• Enter a PIN number.
• An IVR system will call your phone and ask you to type the PIN in.
• Make payments.

For more information on PayPal Mobile: read this blog

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3G mobiles 'change social habits'

Increasing use of 3G mobile phones can change the way people communicate and create new social trends and tribes, a behavioural study has suggested.

The study said the combination of still and video cameras on modern phones, and the advent of high speed data transfer, can inspire a generation of users.

Bloggers, film-makers and clubbers all benefit from 3G phones, it said.

Analysts Future Laboratory said the report was the first ethnographic survey of 3G use across the UK.

3G is the next generation of mobile phone technology, offering a wide range of high speed mobile services, including video calling and messaging, e-mail, games, photo messaging and information services.

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Siemens and Nokia Help T-Mobile Build HSDPA Wireless Network

European cell phone giant, T-Mobile, is working together with Siemens and Nokia to enhance its mobile phone network, and speed up 3G mobile data services in Germany and Austria.

Siemens is the main supplier for the project, but Nokia will also be supplying some equipment for the new HSDPA network, which will bring true broadband speeds to mobile phones.

“Starting with Germany and Austria, T-Mobile customers can now use their notebook or mobile phone to surf in the Internet at DSL (digital subscriber line) speeds and download large volumes of data such as movies or large e-mail attachments faster than before,” said Siemens in a statement.

Existing 3G services have failed to generate mass-market interest in Europe, but T-Mobile is hoping that the faster HSDPA network will create more interest in advanced mobile data offerings.

The new network will be up and running by the end of May, with initial data transfer speeds of up to 1.8 Mbps, compared to 384 kbps with the existing technology. Further upgrades should see the T-Mobile network boosted to 3.6 Mbps by the end of the year, and doubled to 7.2 Mbps shortly thereafter.

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UK: Skype and Hutchison 3 Group launch 3G datacard

Skype has struck a deal with Hutchision 3 Group, the 3G mobile operator (UK) last month to provide its VoIP services to the 3 mobile subscribers, which enables the customers to make cheaper VoIP calls.

This service was launched 13th of this month. The new datacard available from £ 39.99. 3 has bundled a special starter pack provided by Skype. The starter pack includes the Skype software, a Skype headset and a Skype starter voucher.

Users hoping to get the card at the cheapest price - £ 39.99 will have to opt for the Web and Office 512 package priced at £45 per month. However users will get half a Gb of data bundled in each month.

The Skype and Hutchison 3 brands compliment each other, representing innovation and high value offerings to consumers. This partnership will enable Hutchison to directly tap into the 75 million people using Skype across the Hutchison territories and promote to them the benefits of using Skype on Hutchison’s networks.

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SurfNoise launches mini-ads for mobiles

Voice advertisement company, SurfNoise has launched a mobile marketing service called PocketSpots that will create mini audio commercial campaigns for MP3 players and mobile phones. The company urges clients to keep their ads under 10 seconds long and rely on intrigue for their pitch. PocketSpots charges between $100 and $900 per commercial tag.

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SurfNoise launches mini-ads for mobiles

Voice advertisement company, SurfNoise has launched a mobile marketing service called PocketSpots that will create mini audio commercial campaigns for MP3 players and mobile phones. The company urges clients to keep their ads under 10 seconds long and rely on intrigue for their pitch. PocketSpots charges between $100 and $900 per commercial tag.

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Microsoft, Telstra to demo DVB-H in Australia

Microsoft, Telstra and Broadcast Australia will provide the country with a look at DVB-H enabled mobile TV at the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games. The announcement follows Telstra's recent launch of its Big Pond mobile 3G and broadband service. The demo will broadcast seven channels of live coverage of the games. Microsoft will provide specially enabled Windows Mobile handhelds and the content will be broadcast using Windows Media 9 compression. Broadcast Australia will provide the transmission infrastructure. The games were originally called the British Empire Games and include a wide variety of sports.

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