GPS tracking chip for mobile

• A new chip designed for portable wireless devices combines the coverage of two satellite-based navigation services to offer a location tracking time of less than one second.
• The u-blox 5 chip, which Switzerland's U-blox plans to unveil at the 3GSM World Congress event in Barcelona next month.
• The technology has a tracking sensitivity of -160 dBm, which enables indoor coverage.
• With a power consumption of less than 50 mW, the u-blox 5 chip allows GPS-enabled mobile phones and other wireless devices to operate in difficult indoor environments, such as shopping malls and train stations.
• In addition to its satellite-based navigation chip, U-blox will use the 3GSM event to show several other new products, including AssistNow Offline, which stores data in the GPS receiver for up to two weeks.
  
• The technology allows the receiver to compute a position instantly without having to connect to a mobile network at startup to download the data, as is the case with typical GPS services

Source : http://news.yahoo.com

Motorola going to use 3G chips of Texas Instruments

• Motorola said it would develop advanced mobile phones using chips from Texas Instruments Inc. .
• Motorola said it would use customized chips from TI for upcoming third-generation (3G) high-speed wireless handsets that would be available as early as 2008.
• Motorola said TI would also supply chips for handsets based on WiMax, an emerging high-speed wireless technology, and these handsets would also be available in 2008.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com

Broadcom Unveils advanced Bluetooth Headsets

• Broadcom on Monday unveiled two Bluetooth chipsets and software that the company says can improve the sound and reduce the size of wireless headsets, while consuming less battery power.
• The BCM2047 and BCM2044 chips can better resist interference from other devices, and blocking by the human body that results in degraded radio performance.
• The BCM2047 includes an ARM AudioDE data engine, which is a high-performance digital signal processor optimized for Broadcom's new SmartAudio software.
• The BCM2044 delivers the same range and power management capabilities for low-cost headsets.
• SmartAudio is a sound and voice enhancement technology that improves audio quality in noisy environments by reducing background noise by 95%

Source:http://news.yahoo.com

Playing MP3 with Motorola ROKR E6

ROKR E6 provides a very good balance of entertainment and business needs. This phone is very good for music. I guess after getting this mobile in your hand, you never feel to carry one extra device only to listen music.

• This phone supports all popular format of sound file such as AAC, AAC+, DRM, MIDI, MP3, RA, WAV, WMA etc. You can also set any of these sound files as ringtones.
• This is available with built-in FM- radio. You can save your favorite stations, but radio programs cannot be recorded.
• The MOTOROKR E6 has an internal memory of 8MB and supports SD cards up to 2GB. This mobile also support the most inexpensive flash media, after CompactFlash. Keep in mind that all your microSD and miniSD cards will still work on the E6 with an adaptor. So, You can save fairly large collection of musics.
• The E6 houses a larger than average 1000mAh battery.
• You can enjoy the music through any headset - even wireless Bluetooth stereo headphones.
• You have option to connect to www.motomusic.com.cn, where you can discover, buy, download, enjoy, and share the very latest in music.

Updates available for Palm mobile

• Smartphone maker palm improved two Treo devices that run the Palm operating system by adding business-friendly features such as push e-mail for Microsoft Exchange users.
• Palm's adding the kind of features business users want to the Palm OS-based Treo 680 and 700p. They'll now provide automatic wireless delivery of e-mail, calendar, and contact information directly from Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 SP2 or Exchange 2007.
• Palm in the past provided the "push" service, the main attribute of Research In Motion's BlackBerry, only through third-party providers, and it required middleware.

Source : http://news.yahoo.com

World's Densest Memory Chip

• In a breakthrough that suggests the continuing validity of Moore's Law, researchers have developed a memory chip as small as a human blood cell that sets a record for integration density in a man-made object. The memory circuit is a "milestone in manufacturing," the scientists
• Researchers say they've created the world's densest memory circuit, about 100 times denser than today's standard memory unit and as small as a human white blood cell.
• Although mass production could still be a decade away and the chip contains only a modest capacity of 160,000 bits of information, the achievement points to the possible exponential growth of computing power.
• The memory circuit is a "milestone in manufacturing," said the team led by chemistry professor James Heath of the California Institute of Technology and J. Fraser Stoddart, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, in announcing their achievement in the journal Nature.
• "It's the sort of device that Intel would contemplate making in the year 2020," said Heath, who is the Gilloon Professor at Caltech. "But at the moment it furthers our goal of learning how to manufacture functional electronic circuitry at molecular dimensions."

Source : http://www.technewsworld.com

Sumsung released 1.8-inch Drives with 60 GB capacity

• Samsung announced its first 1.8-inch drive with a 60GB capacity on Thursday as a part of the company's new line of N-series of HDDs.
• Measuring 5-millimeters tall and with a super-slim form factor, Samsung's N-series will come in 20-, 30-, 40-, and 60 GB capacities and are available in both internal and external HDD types.
• According to Samsung the new N-series drives will be ideal for use in small portable media centers and mobile devices.

Source : http://www.extremetech.com

Voice Controlled Mobile Directory Search from Tellme

• TellMe has launched a useful new application for American mobile phone users that allows you to retrieve information on businesses using just your voice.
• TellMe is a beta Java application that can be installed on handsets, allowing users to find full details of businesses anywhere in the US.
• When using the TellMe application, users simply hold a button on their handset and say the desired city and state followed by a business name or category.
• Once a business has been located, users are presented with options to call the business's number, get a map of its location, or get directions to the location by either giving your current location as a starting point or starting from the address of one of your previous searches.

Source : http://www.mobileburn.com

Cell phone transmitters pose no danger for health

• A four-year long study of cellular telephone base stations has found their transmissions pose no risk to human health, the carriers funding the study said Wednesday.
• The test involved generating signals identical to those output by WCDMA (wideband code division multiple access) base stations. WCDMA is the most common 3G cell phone technology and is already in use in Japan and many other countries.
• The signals were up to 10 times more powerful than the maximum limit allowed in Japan and even so they had no harmful effects on cell samples put in their way, the companies reported on Wednesday.

Source : http://news.yahoo.com

Email with BlackBerry 8703e

• The most notable feture in BlackBerry 8703e is its user friendly e-mail features.
• The RIM BlackBerry 8703e is EV-DO capable and supports up to 10 e-mail accounts with real-time delivery.
• It works with your personal e-mail, your business account (via a BlackBerry Enterprise Server), or a custom BlackBerry e-mail address.
• While editing it keeps your content in fairly compact form.
• Only problem is the 35 individual keys are bit slick and feel plasticky.

But this is the best choice if e-mail is one of your mail priorities.

LG introduced mobile phone which Resembles IPhone

• LG Electronics Co. said Thursday it will start selling next month a new mobile phone that incorporates a buttonless touch-screen resembling the much-hyped iPhone.
• LG's Prada Phone is being produced in partnership with the Italian fashion brand. It is set to go on sale in late February for 600 euros ($780) at mobile phone dealers and Prada stores in Britain, France, Germany and Italy, and comes to Asia in March.
• The no-button interface with the entire phone face covered by a touch-sensitive screen resembles the Apple iPhone.
• The LG phone has a wide-screen display and can play most popular digital music and video formats, and has a 2-megapixel camera like the iPhone. Its memory can be expanded with cards.

Source : http://www.washingtonpost.com

Video calling is on the way, are you ready for it?

Video calling is on the way in USA. Cingular is planning to launch video calling service this year. I am sure other providers will not be far behind. But are you well equipped for that? Is your mobile phone has all minimum requirement what video calling need?

First of all let us take a quick look at what video calling is? In short it can be describe as “ a service that allows wireless phone users to see each other in the mobile phone screen while talking ”. The service allows users to send a live video stream to a recipient during a standard voice call. Beginning with a normal phone call, customers can hit one button to add a live video stream, allowing the called party to see caller while they're talking. The service also allows customers to switch the direction of the video stream during the same phone call.

Currently mobile service providers in USA mostly using 2G network. The 2G (second-generation) networks of the 1990s handle voice, caller ID, and text messaging, but the data transfer rate is not capable of transmitting video. The more recent 2.5G networks are faster, but their speeds of 30 to 90Kbps aren’t quick enough to support full-motion, real-time video. For video calling 3G network is the solution, with transmission speeds ranging from 144Kbps to 2.4Mbps, 3G is nearly as fast as high-speed cable modems.

While service provider going to use 3G network to transfer data, your mobile also should be compatible with 3G. You should have 3G mobile phone which is HSDPA(High-speed Downlink packet access) enabled.

Also your phone should have a front and back camera. The back camera shoots photos and videos, and the front camera focuses on the user to transmit the user’s image to the recipient.

Pretty interesting huh!!!! But if you don’t have 3G mobile now, don’t worry, your current mobile is good enough until video calling is supported by service provider. But if you are planning to change your current mobile phone, may be you should think about buying a 3G one.

D800iDS : Touch Panel mobile phone

• Japan's top wireless operator NTT DoCoMo Inc. unveiled on Tuesday a mobile phone featuring a touch-sensitive screen.
• D800iDS, made by Mitsubishi Electric Corp., opens up like a clamshell and is equipped with screens on both upper and lower halves, rather than the typical design of one display and a number keypad.
• DoCoMo said its new handset, which is scheduled to go on sale in Japan in February, would let users send hand-written messages and drawings as e-mail attachments and also offer a wider scope for games and other entertainment software.

Source : http://news.yahoo.com

i-mate PDAL

• From CES in Las Vegas, i-mate has announced that it has made its interesting PDAL Windows mobile Pocket PC Phone
• The quad-band capable device shuns high-speed 3G data in favor of EDGE, but does include 802.11b/g WiFi connectivity for when you are in range of an acess point .
• Bluetooth is also present as a third connectivity option, and the device supports the A2DP stereo headset profile.
• 2.4" touchscreen that makes easy work of viewing photos taken with the 2.0 megapixel camera . Running Windows Mobile 5.0 with AKU3.2, the i-mate PDAL is primed and ready for push email.

Source : http://www.mobileburn.com

iPhone : All are not good

We all agree that Apple's iPhone gave us a new choice in the mobile phone market. Available features in iPhone is uncomparable in today's market. But there are some features which need to be improved in this phone.

• iPhone's main drawbacks is relatively slow data network
• iPhone running on closed OS X platform. That means we have to istall softwares which are available by provider .
• Currently iPhone is exclusive to the Cingular network. Apple not releasing phone for other mobile service provider.
  
• Even though this has los of new features, $500 price tag is too high.
  

Credit card from mobile phone

• apanese wireless operator Softbank Corp. (9984.T) and credit card issuer Credit Saison (8253.T) plan to team up to issue credit cards linked to customers' mobile phone accounts.
• Mobile phone customers of Softbank would be able to accumulate points when spending with the credit card, which they can use to pay for mobile music downloads and other mobile phone-related fees.
• Japanese mobile phone operators have been speeding efforts to add financial services to help retain customers and expand into e-commerce as subscriber growth has slowed and competition has fueled price cuts.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com

IM-U170: New Metallic Slim Phone from Pantech

• Pantech Group has announced the launch of its IM-U170 handset, a slim phone fully wrapped with a metal case as part of its design innovation initiatives.
• The new IM-U170 clamshell handset features enhanced both refinement and durability, coming in a full metal case made of magnesium. The metallic keypad - beamed with EL* light- is another addition to the simple and refined design of the phone, crowning the metallic touch of the phone.
• The new handset provides a fresh and fun way to play an interactive game, which is the world's first face-recognition mobile game in the industry. The built-in camera traces the movement of the user's face to use for input instead of controllers. Users can have their real-time faces while playing games with the IM-U170.

Source : http://www.mobileburn.com

Linux based phones from Motorola

• Motorola is bringing Linux-based phones with strong entertainment features to the consumer marketplace.

• First one is MOTORIZR Z6, a slide-to-open phone similar to the company's existing Z3

• And the second one MOTOMING A1200, a flip-open, touch-screen communications and entertainment device.

• Both are quad-band GSM phones, while the A1200 also supports EDGE for high speed network access.

Source : http://www.smartdevicecentral.com

Apple iPhone: All in One

• With its long-anticipated iPhone, Apple is hoping to do to the wireless industry what it has already done to the music business: Rock it.
• It combines a mobile phone, widescreen iPod and Internet capabilities.
• As an iPod. Using your finger, you can navigate the device's 3.5-inch display. You can watch podcasts, TV shows, movies - and, of course, listen to music and audiobooks. You can also rapidly scroll through album covers using the clever Cover Flow feature on iTunes. But you cannot wirelessly download music purchased off iTunes. Instead, you connect or dock the device as with any iPod.
• As a phone. Touch a name or number in your address book to dial the phone. Or you can use a virtual onscreen keypad. You can synchronize contacts from a PC or Mac and create a favorites list of the folks you frequently call. A nifty visual voice-mail feature lets you jump to the messages you most care about and ignore others. And you can send short text messages using a virtual touch-screen "qwerty" keyboard.
• Connectivity. Included is a full-blown version of Apple's Safari Web browser. You can sync bookmarks from your computer. E-mail can be automatically delivered, or "pushed," for free to you through Yahoo Mail; iPhone also works with Microsoft Exchange as well as other industry standard e-mail services. You can download e-mails in the background while surfing the Web.

Source http://news.yahoo.com

Video Calling Service from Cingular

• Cingular claims it's the first cellular carrier in the United States to showcase a service that allows cell phone users to make live video share calls.
• The new service will work on Cingular's UMTS/HSPDA network, which means the person making the call and the person receiving it will need a 3G Video-Share phone, such as LG Electronics' CU500v.
• The two people also will have to have 3G coverage, which still isn't available in all areas. Customers will have to deal with spotty coverage until Cingular and the other carriers further build out their 3G networks.

Source http://news.yahoo.com

Yahoo unveils Yahoo Go for phones, Motorola partnership

Yahoo on Monday introduced a new service called Yahoo Go designed to simplify browsing the web on cell phones.

The service, which allows one click Web searches on phones, will be available on certain phones from No. 2 cell phone maker Motorola, Yahoo said during a keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show.

Marco Boerries, an executive from Yahoo's Connected Life, the Internet media company's broadband division, said the service would be available on at least 400 cell phone models by the end of the year and that it was talking with all wireless service providers across the world.

Source : http://news.yahoo.com

Verizon to offer TV shows on cellphones

• Verizon Wireless is expected to announce that it will offer full-length programing to its cellular subscribers from major U.S. television networks, The New York Times reported on Saturday.
• This should be in operation by the end of March, will consist of eight channels and will include popular shows from NBC, CBS, Fox and MTV.
• Verizon is joining MediaFLO U.S.A., a subsidiary of Qualcomm which has created technology to transmit high-resolution video through its own dedicated network.

Surce http://news.yahoo.com

Tiny Display for mobile

• Microvision Inc plans to introduce a tiny color projection displays that's small enough to be embedded into portable devices like mobile phones.
• The ultra-thin display -- comparable to a thin mint, though less likely to melt in your hand -- is built upon Microvision's Integrated Photonics Module (IPM), which allows images on portable device screens to be projected on nearby surfaces for improved viewing.
• Using the IPM to drive a mobile phone projector, images stay in focus at any distance, even on curved surfaces, according to the company.

First Truly Double-sided LCD from SAMSUNG

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world's largest provider of thin-film transistor, liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panels announced today that it has created the first LCD panel that can produce independent images on each side of a mobile LCD display. Samsung's new double-sided LCD can show two entirely different pictures or sets of visual data simultaneously on the front and back of the same screen. Other conventional double-sided LCDs can only show a reverse image of the same video data.

This new development will replace two display panels with one, thereby reducing overall thickness of mobile products by at least 1mm.

Executive Vice President Yun Jin-hyuk, in charge of the Mobile Display Division of the Samsung Electronics LCD Business, says, "Our new double-sided mobile display underscores Samsung's commitment to equip our customers with advanced display technology that accelerates the trend toward slimmer mobile products. We anticipate high demand when we commence mass production in the first half of 2007."

The breakthrough LCD product makes use of Samsung's new double-gate, thin-film transistor (TFT) architecture. TFT gates are electronic components that convert the necessary voltage at the pixel level, which controls the liquid crystal alignment needed to reproduce on-screen images. Samsung's new double-sided LCD has two gates that operate each pixel instead of one, so the screen on the front can display different images than the one on the back. The double-sided display makes use of Samsung's proprietary Amorphous Silicon Gate (ASG) technology, which accommodates the increased number of TFT gates without increasing the size of the driver integrated circuits. Driver-ICs typically increase in size when more TFT gates are used.

The new Samsung mobile display requires only one backlight, while competitive double-screen LCDs require two. One side of the panel operates in a transmissive mode, while the other operates in a reflective mode. By using a unique reflective design that utilizes the light trapped in the opposing screen's transmissive mode, the reflective mode does not solely rely on external light sources such as the sun.

The double-sided, dual image LCD's efficient use of light to display images in both transmissive and reflective modes promotes slimmer, more cost-effective products.

The new double-sided LCD is 2.6mm thick and 2.22" wide, with QVGA (240 x 320 pixel) resolution, and has brightness values of 250 nits for the front and 100 nits for the rear display. It will be exhibited at the Consumer Electronics Show, which opens in Las Vegas on January 8.

Source:
http://www.samsung.com/PressCenter/PressRelease/index.asp