Broadband Phone

2007-05-20T19:33:00.000-07:00

Camera phone maker mulls gadget's impact (AP)

By MAY WONG, AP Technology Writer

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SANTA CRUZ, Calif. - The chilling sounds of gunfire on the Virginia Tech campus; the hateful taunts from

Saddam Hussein's execution; the racist tirade of comedian Michael Richards.

Those videos, all shot with cell phone cameras and seen by millions, are just a few recent examples of the power now at the fingertips of the masses. Even the man widely credited with inventing the camera phone in 1997 is awed by the cultural revolution he helped launch.

"It's had a massive impact because it's just so convenient," said Philippe Kahn, a tech industry maverick whose other pioneering efforts include the founding of software maker Borland, an early Microsoft Corp. antagonist.

"There's always a way to capture memories and share it," he said. "You go to a restaurant, and there's a birthday and suddenly everyone is getting their camera phones out. It's amazing."

If Kahn feels a bit like a proud father when he sees people holding up their cell phones to snap pictures, there's good reason: He jury-rigged the first camera phone while his wife was in labor with their daughter.

"We were going to have a baby and I wanted to share the pictures with family and friends," Kahn said, "and there was no easy way to do it."

So as he sat in a maternity ward, he wrote a crude program on his laptop and sent an assistant to a RadioShack store to get a soldering iron, capacitors and other supplies to wire his digital camera to his cell phone. When Sophie was born, he sent her photo over a cellular connection to acquaintances around the globe.

A decade later, 41 percent of American households own a camera phone "and you can hardly find a phone without a camera anymore," said Michael Cai, an industry analyst at Parks Associates.

Market researcher Gartner Inc. predicts that about 589 million cell phones will be sold with cameras in 2007, increasing to more than 1 billion worldwide by 2010.

Mix in the Internet's vast reach and the growth of the YouTube generation, and the ubiquitous gadget's influence only deepens and gets more complicated. So much so that the watchful eyes on all of us may no longer just be those of Big Brother.

"For the past decade, we've been under surveillance under these big black and white cameras on buildings and at 7-Eleven stores. But the candid camera is wielded by individuals now," said Fred Turner, an assistant professor of communications at Stanford University who specializes in digital media and culture.

The contraption Kahn assembled in a Santa Cruz labor-and-delivery room in 1997 has evolved into a pocket-friendly phenomenon that has empowered both citizen journalists and personal paparazzi.

It has prompted lawsuits — a student sued campus police at UCLA for alleged excessive force after officers were caught on cell-phone video using a stun gun during his arrest; and been a catalyst for change — a government inquiry into police practices ensued in Malaysia after a cell-phone video revealed a woman detainee being forced to do squats while naked.

On another scale, parents use cell-phone slideshows — not wallet photos — to show off pictures of their children, while adolescents document their rites of passage with cell phone cameras and instantly share the images.

One of the recipients of Kahn's seminal photo e-mail was veteran technology consultant Andy Seybold, who recalled being "blown away" by the picture.

"The fact that it got sent wirelessly on the networks those days — that was an amazing feat," Seybold said.

Kahn's makeshift photo-communications system formed the basis for a new company, LightSurf Technologies, which he later sold to VeriSign Inc. LightSurf built "PictureMail" software and worked with cell phone makers to integrate the wireless photo technology.

Sharp Corp. was the first to sell a commercial cell phone with a camera in Japan in 2000. Camera phones didn't debut in the U.S. until 2002, Kahn said.

Though Kahn's work revolved around transmitting only digital still photographs — video-related developments were created by others in the imaging and chip industries — his groundbreaking implementation of the instant-sharing via a cell phone planted a seed.

"He facilitated people putting cameras in a phone, and he proved that you can take a photo and send it to someone with a cell phone," Seybold said.

Kahn, 55, is well aware of how the camera phone has since been put to negative uses: sneaky shots up women's skirts, or the violent trend of "happy slapping" in Europe where youths provoke a fight or assault, capture the incident on camera and then spread the images on the Web or between mobile phones.

But he likes to focus on the technology's benefits. It's been a handy tool that has led to vindication for victims or validation for vigilantes.

As Kahn heard the smattering of stories in recent years about assailants scared off by a camera phone or criminals who were nabbed later because their faces or their license plates were captured on the gadget, he said, "I started feeling it was better than carrying a gun."

And though he found the camera-phone video of the former Iraqi dictator's execution disturbing, Kahn said the gadget helped "get the truth out." The unofficial footage surreptitiously taken by a guard was vastly different from the government-issued version and revealed a chaotic scene with angry exchanges depicting the ongoing problems between the nation's factions.

Kahn also thinks the evolution of the camera phone has only just begun.

He wouldn't discuss details of his newest startup, Fullpower Technologies Inc., which is in stealth mode working on the "convergence of life sciences and wireless," according to its Web site.

But, Kahn said, it will, among other things, "help make camera phones better."

2007-05-18T21:28:00.000-07:00

Ads to cellphone screens set for rapid growth (Reuters)

By Tarmo Virki

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PARIS (Reuters) - The more than $500 million mobile
advertising market looks set to multiply in just a few years,
helped by new technologies and the spread of more advanced
phones.

Executives attending Reuters Global Technology, Media and
Telecoms Summit in Paris, New York and Seoul said the demand
for mobile advertising was finally rising after years of high
hopes in the industry.

"I think mobile is one of the great growth opportunities,"
said Randy Falco, head of AOL, the Internet division of Time
Warner Inc. (NYSE:TWX - news), which this week purchased mobile
advertising company Third Screen Media.

"It will certainly be in the $4.5 to $5 billion range in
terms of the marketplace (in five years)," he said, adding that
estimates for the annual market now range from $500 million to
$900 million.

"I think you need to be there. That's money that's coming
from some place. It's coming from other media," Falco said.

Martin Sorrell, Chief Executive of WPP Group Plc (WPP.L),
said he sees mobile advertising as an interesting area, which
has much growth ahead.

"My sense is that that is an area that is small but growing
fairly rapidly," he said.

Strategy Analytics, one of the most cautious forecasters on
mobile advertising market growth, has forecast global mobile
advertising market will reach $574 million this year and grow
almost three-fold by 2010.

In addition to media firms and telecom operators, Internet
players Google Inc. (Nasdaq:GOOG - news) and Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO - news) and the
world's top cellphone maker

Nokia Oyj (NOK1V.HE) are also keen
to have a piece of the growing pie.

WHERE'S THE PHONE

Text message advertisements have made headlines in the
United States, where

Hillary Clinton and

John Edwards use them
in presidential campaigns, but lack of advanced cellphones --
which enable viewing of Internet pages or positioning services
-- has held back wider uptake.

For the next year the industry expects to sell 250 million
so-called smartphones and handset makers including Nokia have
started to ship their first models with GPS chips in them.

Such positioning chips enable shopkeepers to send
advertisements to potential buyers nearby, or pubs to alert
people walking by that happy hour is set to end.

"We know where the phone is -- it's much, much, much more
targeted," said David Erskine, head of Telefonica's (TEF.MC)
European mobile operations outside Spain.

Erskine said the business case for mobile advertising has
not fully proven, but a test the company was running looked
promising.

"The number of hits is really, really powerful," he said.

No. 3 U.S. wireless carrier Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE:S - news)
earlier this week launched InterActiveCorp.'s (Nasdaq:IACI - news) mobile
Web search service "Ask Mobile GPS" to help consumers find
friends, shops and services based on their location.

The company does not yet use the service as a platform to
sell ads, but it would enable advertisers to know not only who
called their business having used Ask Mobile's service, but
also to know who walked into their store due to the ad.

Even as bigger rival AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - news) forecast lucrative
growth from placing ads on handsets, Verizon Communications
(NYSE:VZ - news) said it was taking a cautious approach to creating an
advertising business via its Verizon Wireless joint venture
with Vodafone.

"I am reluctant to say that delivering ads is what our
customers want. At the same time our customers have come to
expect advertising as they look at the Internet," said Verizon
Communications Chief Operating Officer Denny Strigl.

But Tom Henriksson, head of Nokia's advertising network for
mobile publishers, said the personal nature of handsets was set
to boost mobile in its battle against PCs for the increasing
amount of digital ad dollars.

"We have good reason to believe mobile advertising will be
a significant market," he told Reuters. "In mobile we see much
higher click-through rates."

(Additional reporting by Sinead Carew, Michele Gershberg
and Gina Keating in New York)

2007-05-13T18:12:00.000-07:00

Cell tracking locates heart recipient (Canadian Press)

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. (AP) - Police located a 10-year-old boy awaiting a heart transplant by asking his mother's cellular provider to locate her cellphone.

John Paul May of Harrisville had the successful surgery at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh on Saturday night, but came dangerously close to being passed over for the donor heart until police tracked down the boy and his mother at a jazz festival.

The hospital called state police Saturday afternoon because officials couldn't reach the boy's parents to let them know a donor heart had been found. When police couldn't find the boy or reach him by phone, they contacted Sprint Nextel Corp. to get the co-ordinates of his mother's cellphone.

"The only time you can use it is life or death, or to track someone wanted in a homicide," state police Cpl. James Green said. Otherwise, police must get a warrant from a judge.

Using the co-ordinates, state police tracked the phone to a Slippery Rock University building. Police stopped the jazz concert that was happening and announced they were looking for the boy and his mother, Sue.

The crowd of some 500 jumped to their feet and gave the boy a standing ovation as he left, said Steve Hawk, a music professor who conducted the concert.

"I've been in the entertainment business for 30 years and never had such an emotional, shocking event happen at something live," Hawk told the Butler Eagle.

2007-05-11T02:01:00.000-07:00

Phones to alert users to save energy (Reuters)

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Your mobile phone could soon be
prompting you to save energy by unplugging the phone's charger
when the battery is full, an initiative

Nokia (NOK1V.HE) said
on Thursday it would roll out across its device range.

Mobile phones sounding a beep and displaying an alert --
"Battery is full, please unplug the charger" -- could save
enough electricity to power 85,000 homes annually, Nokia said.

The phone maker has previously said it had agreed with
other mobile industry companies on measures to reduce energy
consumption and reduce pollution in the sector as part of a
project in partnership with the

European Commission.

Nokia said the unplug alerts are set to first appear on its
1200, 1208 and 1650 phone models.

2007-05-10T19:41:00.000-07:00

Qualcomm talks tough on patents, 4G (InfoWorld)

John Blau

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San Francisco (IDGNS) - The race to define and build next-generation broadband wireless networks is in full swing. And though Qualcomm doesn't like to use the term "4G," the company -- a key supplier of chip technology for today's 3G networks -- is already moving to stake its claim in the emerging market for superfast wireless services.

If some companies had hoped to keep Qualcomm out of the picture by pushing OFDM (orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing) as the airlink technology of choice for 4G networks instead of

CDMA -- in which the U.S. company has substantial intellectual property rights -- they could be in for a surprise.

In an interview with IDG News Service, Bill Davidson, senior vice president of investor relations and international marketing at Qualcomm, said the company has more than 1,000 essential patents for OFDM, OFDMA (OFDM Access), and MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) technologies, all of which form the foundation of new 4G technologies, whether WiMax, LTE (Long-Term Evolution), or UMB (Ultra Mobile Broadband). Qualcomm scooped up around 150 OFDM/OFDMA patents through its acquisition of Flarion Technologies.

The following is an edited transcript.

IDGNS: Is OFDM a new area of development for Qualcomm?

Davidson: If you go back to the beginning of Qualcomm, OFDM was considered a path instead of CDMA. The company ended up going down the CDMA route because CDMA was better able to handle all the things you want to do on a wide-area wireless network. We believe that to this day.

IDGNS: Are you planning any more acquisitions of companies with OFDM technology?

Davidson: In the last couple of years, our acquisition activity has stepped up. Flarion was clearly the largest deal of the last few years.

IDGNS: Do intellectual property rights play a big role in your acquisition strategy?

Davidson: They can and, clearly in the case of Flarion, there was a double benefit. First and foremost, we got the only team -- to this day -- to deploy a working mobile OFDM system. We also got the intellectual property rights that came along with the business. Our acquisitions are focused on accelerating time to market on a build-versus-buy decision and augmenting engineering resources more than we're out trying to grab patents.

IDGNS: What's driving all the interest in OFDM?

Davidson: We're seeing interest in OFDM because spectrum is becoming available in the 10MHz blocks and wider. From an efficiency standpoint, there's not really a benefit for OFDM over CDMA. But when you get into wider branches of spectrum, it can be a little less complex to implement.

IDGNS: But isn't 4G -- in which OFDM will play a big role -- all about newer, faster services?

Davidson: I think OFDM is really just a spectrum play. And frankly, we don't subscribe to the "4G" term. The applications that I've heard discussed aren't a whole lot different from what is being enabled over 3G today.

IDGNS: Isn't 4G supposed to be a lot faster than 3G?

Davidson: Many are talking about data rates that we don't even get on landline systems today. Yes, you can enable HDTV over these enormously wide pieces of spectrum. But what is the practical cost to the end-user?

IDGNS: So do we really need 4G?

Davidson: There is an existing roadmap within existing 3G technologies that provide the very same and, in most cases, better performance than some of the new technologies being proposed by other groups.

IDGNS: So WiMax and LTE aren't necessary?

Davidson: I look at LTE and UMB as being comparable; WiMax is not comparable to those technologies in terms of performance. There is a mistake in the premise that whatever comes along -- what people are calling 4G -- will be something that supplants the existing networks. We've been saying for several years that it will be about multiple airlinks existing in the market and making them work effectively together.

IDGNS: Let me come back to WiMax: Why isn't it comparable to LTE?

Davidson: Because its original legacy is borne out of the fixed environment, there are immediate engineering trade-offs and performance issues that you come up against. There is this concept of link budget, or how effective a technology is over the airlink. WiMax suffers from poor spectral efficiency because of its heritage as not being a mobile standard.

IDGNS: Do you see any intellectual property rights issues with 4G?

Davidson: We believe that our OFDM, OFDMA, and MIMO portfolio is among the strongest out there and clearly believe that it's applicable to any OFDM/OFDMA systems. Unfortunately, those who are supporting WiMax are trying to make it sound that the IP (intellectual property) picture with this technology is very clear and that it's going to be simple. The IP picture in 3G is much clearer today than what exists in WiMax. The number of companies claiming IP that can be contributed to WiMax is enormous.

IDGNS: Will Qualcomm be active in WiMax in any way?

Davidson: As we said several years back when many were trying to say that Wi-Fi would come and kill 3G, to the extent that our customers want the integration of Wi-Fi into our chipsets, we'll accommodate that. We've said the same about WiMax. We're being pragmatic and view that it will be in the market.

IDGNS:

Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said at the company's recent shareholders' meeting that the Finnish manufacturer can't give one company, Qualcomm, a chance to dictate rules for the whole industry. He said the issue is not Qualcomm versus Nokia but rather it's more about Qualcomm versus the rest of the industry. And your opinion?

Davidson: It's amusing to me that Nokia seems to think it's holding up the banner for the entire industry. If not for Qualcomm, there would be far fewer handset manufacturers for them to deal with as competitors and potential competitors. Our business model gives consumers a lot more choice so that Nokia can't dictate pricing into the market. Because we hold intellectual property, Nokia wants to paint us controlling the industry. We enable a lot of competition that causes them a lot of concern -- hence why we're being attacked by them.

2007-05-08T21:47:00.000-07:00

Semiconductor Firm Owned Strong Profit (Investor's Business Daily)

Vincent Mao

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Would you buy, hold or sell this stock?

This Sunnyvale, Calif.-based firm manufactures image sensors used in mobile phones, digital cameras and security systems.

The stock made up a lot of lost ground after a nasty plunge several years ago.

The company's fundamentals were strong. Earnings growth skyrocketed 225% to 1,700% in the previous four quarters. At the time, analysts expected a 133% surge in the upcoming quarter.

Sales growth was healthy: The company owned four consecutive quarters of triple-digit revenue gains.

Also, the company's after-tax profit margin had jumped to 17% from 9.6% five quarters earlier.

Institutional sponsorship was rising. A total of 166 funds owned shares of the stock, up from 110 three quarters earlier.

Lastly, semiconductor issues were going strong at the time.

With those factors in place, what would you do?

2007-05-01T18:28:00.000-07:00

Icahn takes aim at Motorola's Zander (Reuters)

By Sinead Carew

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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Billionaire investor Carl Icahn on
Tuesday took direct aim at Motorola Inc.'s (NYSE:MOT - news) Chief
Executive Ed Zander on Tuesday, as he stepped up his efforts to
win a seat on the mobile phone maker's board.

In a letter to investors, published as a full-page
advertisement in the Wall Street Journal, Icahn said Motorola
"suffered a critical failure in oversight and leadership."

Icahn, who said he was seeking one board seat and not
control of the company, used the letter to air his most pointed
criticism yet of Zander since late January when he began his
quest for a board seat. The vote is scheduled for May 7.

Citing a Journal report that Zander was apt to say that he
loved his job, but hated his customers Icahn said the comments
sounded like "something straight out of 'Alice in Wonderland."'

Icahn said Motorola, which has seen its shares lose about a
third of their value since mid-October amid weak handset sales,
had been "shaken by leadership setbacks that ... could have,
and in fact should have, been averted."

Motorola shares were up 28 cents or 1.62 percent at $17.71
in early afternoon trade on the

New York Stock Exchange.

The company fought back by repeating its opposition to
Icahn and questioning how he would balance the trading
restrictions a Motorola directorship would bring with his
responsibilities to his own investors.

"If there were an opportunity for Carl Icahn's funds to
sell Motorola shares at a favorable price, would he simply
resign from your Board to take advantage of it?," Motorola said
in an amended proxy statement filed with regulators.

Motorola filed a first-quarter loss earlier this month and
said its 2007 outlook was significantly worse than expected due
to a lack of advanced phones and a tough pricing environment.
The company has been criticized for a stale product line as it
has not followed its aging Razr phone with another hit.

TIME TO IMPROVE

Jefferies & Co analyst Bill Choi said Icahn was hoping to
stir up discontent among already unhappy investors.

"Some investors are obviously frustrated at how quickly
things have demised. Icahn is trying to play to some of the
investor sentiment," Choi said. Pressure on Zander would
increase unless he brings improvements, Choi added.

"I think he has some time but he needs to show progress in
the second half of this year," Choi said.

Motorola, which has said Icahn is unqualified for its board
because of his lack of industry experience, said it had offered
help Icahn to find a "mutually acceptable" candidate.

Icahn has accused the current board of being passive, and,
if elected, would as the board's biggest stockholder, speak for
large shareholders by asking tough questions if he were
elected.

"I am convinced that significant stockholder representation
in the Motorola boardroom, even by a single director, is
absolutely necessary at this troubled company," he said.

Some buyside experts said Icahn may have a good chance of
winning a seat after leading proxy advisory firm Institutional
Shareholder Services (ISS), whose clients hold $25.5 trillion
in investments, recommended voting Icahn onto the board.

Jane Snorek, an analyst at First American Funds, which
holds Motorola shares among its $100 billion of investments,
also said that without concrete financial arguments, many ISS
clients would be unlikely to dismiss the firm's endorsement.

"I think he definitely will get elected," said Snorek. "If
you're a shareholder, I don't know why you wouldn't vote
(Icahn) on. I can't think of one good reason."

Icahn said he and affiliates own over 68 million Motorola
shares, or a roughly 3 percent stake, with a value of over $1.2
billion.

2007-04-30T02:18:00.000-07:00

Report: Texting hurts Ireland's youths (Canadian Press)

SHAWN POGATCHNIK

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DUBLIN, Ireland (AP) - Ireland's youth are becoming increasingly poor spellers and writers, and their love of text messaging on cellphones is a major reason why, according to the government's Education Department.

In a report published Wednesday, the department's Examination Commission said cutting-edge communications technology has encouraged poor literacy and a blunt, choppy style at odds with academic rigour.

"Text messaging, with its use of phonetic spelling and little or no punctuation, seems to pose a threat to traditional conventions in writing," according to the report, based on national test results in English for about 37,000 students aged 15 and 16.

The report branded today's teens "unduly reliant on short sentences, simple tenses and a limited vocabulary."

Too many test-takers, it said, were "choosing to answer sparingly, even minimally, rather than seeing questions as invitations to explore the territory they had studied and to express the breadth and depth of their learning and understanding."

Ireland is among the world leaders in cellphone use - in part because of traditionally high costs for conventional phone lines - and surveys indicate that a majority of children have their own mobile phone by age 12, with the most enthusiastic texters sending more than 250 a week.

2007-04-28T00:10:00.000-07:00

India mobile phone giant Bharti rings up 98 pct rise in Q4 profit (AFP)

by Penny MacRae

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NEW DELHI (AFP) - India's top mobile phone company, Bharti Airtel Ltd, said fourth-quarter net profit nearly doubled as its number of customers rocketed in the world's fastest-growing wireless market.

Net profit for the three months to March grew 98 percent to 13.53 billion rupees (330 million dollars), beating market forecasts, on revenues which climbed 58 percent to 53.93 billion rupees.

"The Indian telecom sector has witnessed unprecedented growth this year, led by the mobile segment," Bharti chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal told reporters.

"Demand for telecom services across all segments remains buoyant and we believe the growth momentum can be sustained," said the billionaire telecom tycoon who started out as a small-time manufacturer.

Analysts say India is just at the beginning of a telephone boom.

India, home to more than a billion people, is the world's fastest growing telecoms market with just 15 percent of its population owning mobile phones compared with 36 percent in China.

Bharti, 31 percent owned by Singapore's SingTelNet, said net profit for the year to March jumped 89 percent to 42.57 billion rupees on revenues that increased 59 percent to 185.2 billion rupees.

The profit rise came despite cuts in charges in the intensively competitive mobile sector which has the lowest tariff structure in the world.

During the year, the customer base soared by 86 percent to 39 million -- most of them in the mobile sector.

"Growth is not slowing down, it's accelerating, growth in the mobile sector is phenomenal," said Bharti, adding competition "is as intense as it gets."

The company, part of Bharti Enterprises, signed up 5.3 million new customers in the fourth quarter alone and its market share grew to 22.9 percent, up from 20.4 percent a year earlier.

Mittal dismissed competition from the world's largest mobile company, Vodafone Group, which is buying Hutchison Essar Ltd., India's fourth-biggest wireless operator, saying he was confident Bharti would remain number one.

Right now, India's mobile revolution is mainly confined to the cities, but the real prize for phone companies is the vast rural market where nearly 70 percent of the population lives, analysts say.

Telephone penetration is around 25 per 100 people in urban areas, and as low as 1.6 per 100 in rural areas.

Mittal said the company planned capital expenditure of up to 3.5 billion dollars with much of it earmarked for the rural sector.

"This is one of the big capital expenditure years for Bharti," he said.

Bharti, founded in 1995 as mobile telephony was being introduced in India, is sharing infrastructure with Reliance Communications and other rivals as it seeks to reach more of the population.

"Extensive network sharing will become the norm," Mittal said.

The company now could reach about 60 percent of the population and it aimed to boost coverage to 70 percent in the coming year, he said.

Shares in Bharti, India's most valuable telecom company with market capitalisation of more than 40 billion dollars, fell 35.8 rupees to 826.25 on profit-taking, underperforming an overall weaker market, dealers said.

2007-04-27T01:55:00.000-07:00

Horn-Smith steps down at Sage (FT.com)

By Andrew Jack

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Sir Julian Horn-Smith, the former deputy chief executive of the mobile phone giant Vodafone, on Friday stepped down unexpectedly as chairman of Sage, the UK's largest software group, less than one year after his appointment, citing "differences in culture and style".

His abrupt departure is a blow for the Newcastle-based group, with a market capitalisation of £3.4bn, which has been strongly acquisitive and has been seen as a potential target for leading players such as Microsoft, SAP and Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL - news).

Sir Julian, who had been part of Vodafone's old guard instrumental in overseeing domestic and international expansion, became a director of Sage in February last year and stepped up to become its part-time non-executive chairman in August, just after he formally retired from Vodafone.

He was already a non-executive director of Lloyds TSB, and has since been appointed a senior advisor to UBS and a member of the international advisory board to Altimo, the telecoms arm of Alfa of Russia, among other commitments.

Tony Hobson, a non-executive director at Sage, will become acting chairman with immediate effect, while the company prepares to hire headhunters to find a long-term replacement.

Sir Julian said: "Sage is a truly outstanding company and it is with great regret that I have decided to leave. After careful consideration the board agreed that the differences in style and culture meant that change was necessary. I felt that the best solution was for me to stand down as chairman"

Sage stressed "there is absolutely no fall out, difference in strategy or over the future of the business."

The group reported pre-tax profits up 14 per cent to £221m last year on sales up 22 per cent to £936m.

2007-04-26T01:29:00.000-07:00

India to let foreign cos bid for 3G licenses: paper (Reuters)

MUMBAI (Reuters) - India plans to allow new international
players to bid in auctions for third generation (3G) mobile
licenses, Indian media reported on Thursday.

"We want new international players to come to India and
offer their services," the Mint daily quoted Communications and
Information Technology Minister Dayanidhi Maran as saying.

Last year, Maran said 3G mobile telephone services were
likely to be launched in India in the second half of 2007.

India has 12 telecoms firms which offer fixed-line services
and mobile services on GSM and

CDMA platforms.

"The auction for 3G spectrum will be completely distinct
from the existing mobile licenses and services," the paper
quoted Maran as saying.

In February, Vodafone Group Plc (VOD.L), said it would buy
a controlling stake in unlisted Hutchison Essar, India's
fourth-largest cellular operator, from Hutchison
Telecommunications International (2332.HK).

India allows foreign shareholding of up to 74 percent in
telecommunications.

Foreign firms with stakes in Indian mobile services
ventures include SingTel (STEL.SI), which owns 30.8 percent of
top mobile firm Bharti Airtel Ltd (BRTI.BO), and Telekom
Malaysia (TLMM.KL) which has a stake in Spice Communications.

Other firms such as the BT Group Plc (BT.L) and AT&T (NYSE:T - news)
have obtained licenses for international and domestic
long-distance services.

2007-04-24T22:25:00.000-07:00

Nokia Taps into Silicon Valley (PC World)

Stephen Lawson, IDG News Service

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Looking to merge mobile phones with PCs,

Nokia Corp. has expanded its presence in Silicon Valley and is exploring a wireless network that local developers can use to try out new applications.

At its recently opened Nokia Research Center in Palo Alto, California, the Finnish mobile giant is opening up its local research efforts by bringing in startups and developers to talk about new ideas. Previously, Nokia's work here was focused on supporting the company's internal efforts, said Tero Ojanpera, Nokia's executive vice president and chief technology officer.

Ojanpera and other executives spoke at Nokia's Mobile Mash-Up event on Tuesday in Santa Clara, which brought together venture capitalists, developers and partners to discuss new mobile applications. The world's largest mobile handset maker is reaching beyond phones into handheld data devices such as the N800 Wi-Fi computer and sees mobile platforms at the heart of future computing, they said. Along with that, they want a more open development culture similar to that of the PC industry, in which ideas percolate up from many small startups.

"As long as it touches mobility, we're interested in it," said Bob Iannucci, senior vice president and head of the Nokia Research Center.

The company is studying the possibility of a wireless network on which developers and selected consumers could try out new applications, Iannucci said. The network might use 3G (third-generation) cellular, WiMax, Wi-Fi or a combination of those and other technologies and could be available in several linked areas, such as Palo Alto, Berkeley, California, and Cambridge, Massachusetts, where Nokia has another development facility, he said. It would initially be limited to a few thousand developers and users, such as university students. The plan is long term, possibly building up to serving 1,000 people within two years, he said.

One example of mobile innovation that Nokia showed off at the event was Point&Find, based on technology the company acquired along with a startup called Picto. Point&Find lets people point a camera phone at an object or picture and find out more about it, or buy it, just by clicking once when its name comes up on the screen. It works by linking a set of image properties with a URL (uniform resource locator) for information about what's in the image. When a user points the phone's camera at something, the system compares what the viewfinder sees with sets of image properties in a database. Also taking into consideration the user's location, it then delivers useful information about what the user is looking at.

For example, pointing the phone at a movie poster and pressing a key could make a page pop up that offers an ad for the movie and a way to buy a ticket at the theater nearest the user. Pointing the phone at the street might bring up a contact page for a local cab company. The system could give retailers, transit agencies, manufacturers and others the chance to reach consumers while making it easier and more intuitive for consumers to find things, Nokia said. Point&Find was demonstrated at Mobile Mash-Up but is still under development.

2007-04-21T06:31:00.000-07:00

Mobile phones represent next frontier for search (Reuters)

By Daisuke Wakabayashi

>

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - "Mobile, mobile, mobile" were the
words of Google Inc. Chief Executive Eric Schmidt this week
when asked what technologies are most intriguing to the
computer Web search leader.

Google, which generates billions of dollars from online
advertising, is racing to bring consumer services like search
to the phone. Its rivals in this field include Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO - news),
which has made strides in the fast-emerging mobile Web market,
and Microsoft Corp., which bought voice-recognition technology
company Tellme Networks Inc. last month.

"The biggest growth areas are clearly within the mobile
space," Schmidt said during a question-and-answer session at
the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco.

Pay-per-click advertising tied to Web search results
erupted into a multibillion-dollar industry within a few years,
and Internet companies hope mobile phone services will follow a
similar growth trajectory.

ABI Research forecast global mobile marketing and
advertising to increase sixfold to $19 billion by 2011 from an
estimated $3 billion by the end of 2007.

Google, which controls nearly 50 percent of the U.S. Web
search market, is not necessarily a lock to carry over its
success on the computer screen to the mobile phone.

"One of the big game changers is mobile," said Tim
O'Reilly, founder of O'Reilly Media, a publisher of several
popular lines of technology manuals for software programmers.

"Google's dominance in search is dependent on this idea
that we sit, typing away at a keyboard to look up information,"
he said, "but we are in for some huge disruptive upsets."

Improved voice-recognition technology and the inclusion of
global positioning system chips into mobile phones open the
door for new applications to help users find relevant
information wherever they find themselves.

In addition, improvements in handset technology make
today's cell phone capable of doing almost as much as computers
of a decade ago.

NEXT-GENERATION COMPUTING

Last month, Yahoo introduced a new Internet search system
to deliver locally relevant answers to mobile phone users'
questions in fewer steps than Google. Subjects include news
headlines, business listings, local weather and links to other
Web sites.

Yahoo has signed deals to feature its software on four of
the world's top five mobile handset makers.

Tellme Chief Executive Mike McCue said the pace of
innovations on the mobile phone was five to 10 times faster
than the computer.

"There are incredible breakthroughs happening," McCue said
in an interview. "The phone is a place-holder name for the
next-generation computing device."

Microsoft bought Tellme in a deal sources say is valued at
more than $800 million, its largest acquisition in five years.

At the heart of Tellme's appeal is a voice-recognition
database that allows the company to predict what information
callers are seeking and decipher many different accents and
dialects.

Initially, mobile search will serve as an alternative to
411 directory assistance service, which costs as much as $1.85
for every call.

Earlier this month, Google also began offering
voice-activated directory assistance. At the time, O'Reilly
speculated in his blog that Google started the free service at
least in part to build its own speech database.

Industry watchers and company executives recognize the
inherent difference between search on a computer and on a
mobile phone. Search on a computer can be a browsing activity
for research, while mobile search is more about finding
information and then acting on it.

"We are in the very earliest days of this," said McCue.
"It's not about taking the existing PC model and way of
thinking and moving it over to the phone."

The business model of search on a mobile phone will also
differ from the pay-per-click model of a computer, he said.
Users may be willing to be billed for a subscription for
unlimited search.

(Additional reporting by Eric Auchard)

2007-04-20T01:20:00.000-07:00

New attack puts routers, cell phones at risk (InfoWorld)

Robert McMillan

>

San Francisco (IDGNS) - A security researcher at Juniper Networks has developed a new form of attack that can be used to run unauthorized software on a wide range of computing devices, including routers and mobile phones.

In a demonstration set to take place at the CanSecWest security conference in Vancouver Thursday, Juniper's Barnaby Jack says he will show how this technique could be used to take control of a router and then inject malicious software on virtually every machine on the network.

Jack says he has discovered a way to turn a common type of computing error -- called a null pointer dereferencing error -- into something far more dangerous than previously thought. Researchers have known for years how to create these flaws, which occur when the computer tells a program that the part of memory that it's looking for is invalid, or "null."

Until now, null pointer errors had not been considered particularly devastating. They typically cause the affected computer to crash but cause no more serious damage.

On Thursday, however, Jack will show how these flaws can be used to run unauthorized software on certain types of devices. This new technique, is "100 percent reliable, and it results in code execution on the device," he said.

Jack's null pointer exploit is effective on the Arm and xScale processors that are widely used in embedded devices, but it does not work on Intel architecture processors used by PCs.

In his demonstration, Jack plans to show how his attack could be used to make changes to the firmware of a router so that it injects a malicious code into any executable files downloaded from the Internet. This technique could be used to turn legitimate software updates -- Microsoft's monthly software patches, for example -- into an avenue of attack.

Jack bills his technique as a more reliable alternative to hacker techniques like buffer overflow attacks, which attempt to trick the processor into running code that is sneaked into the computer's memory.

If Jack's claims prove to be accurate, this attack will certainly come as a surprise to the companies that use Arm and xScale processors in their devices, said Russ Cooper, a senior information security analyst at Cybertrust. "The Arm processor is supposed to be a secure environment, so that this flaw exists represents a bigger problem."

The discovery would be much more significant, however, if it worked on the x86 processors used by most PCs, he added.

Chip makers could correct the problem in future systems by making a simple change to the processor, but systems that have already shipped are vulnerable to the attack, Jack said.

2007-04-18T17:45:00.000-07:00

Trends & Innovations - Wednesday (Investor's Business Daily)

Investor's Business Daily

>

Phone designed for watching TV

Handset makers are racing to develop better mobile phone screens to meet expected demand for watching TV on the devices. In Japan, where TV on phones already is becoming commonplace, Sharp announced a fall release of phones featuring 2.2-inch screens that offer contrasts of 2,000:1, about 4 times greater than current top screens. The new phones also will be capable of receiving digital TV broadcasts, significantly expanding their capabilities since most phones are only able to show video downloaded from the Internet.

Web 2.0 not as big as thought

The next generation of Web sites that aim to get visitors to interact by adding their own pictures, video or other content to the site are attracting attention, but relatively few participants. A study by Hitwise found that less than 1% of visitors to "Web 2.0" sites, like YouTube or Flickr, actually add material themselves. Rather, most just come to look at what's there. Still, such sites have surged 688% in 2 years and account for 12% of all Web traffic.

The benefit of antidepressants for children and teens outweighs the risk of suicide, a study by the Univ. of Pittsburgh showed. The FDA introduced black-box warnings on the antidepressants in 2004. The study showed an increased risk for suicidal thoughts and attempts, but suggested the size of effect was smaller than in the FDA report.

While ethanol is promoted as an eco-friendly fuel for cars, its widespread use could increase the number of respiratory-related deaths, a study by Stanford Univ. found, HealthDay News reported. A blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline would likely increase the number of asthma-related emergency room visits in the U.S. by 770 a year, the study suggested. Ex-astronaut Buzz Aldrin is promoting an out-of-this-world idea: a space-flight lottery. The venture, called SpaceStakes, would give average Americans a chance to experience space travel, Aldrin told a Wall Street gathering. Details were sketchy and the legality of such a venture unclear. Currently, only 5 multimillionaires have been able to buy their way aboard Russian space flights.

2007-04-17T00:39:00.000-07:00

Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom eyes China 3G market: report (AFP)

TAIPEI (AFP) - Taiwan's leading telephone operator Chunghwa Telecom is looking to China's third-generation mobile phone market despite strict government restrictions on such investments, a report said Tuesday.

The Financial Times quoted Chunghwa Telecom chairman Hochen Tan as saying that the company plans to team up with China Telecom and China Netcom once they obtain 3G licences.

"Although the Taiwan market is much smaller than China's, there are similarities in our habits, our language, our stories," he told the newspaper.

The company expects Chinese-language data content to be the engine of future growth, it said.

Currently, Chunghwa Telecom has 1.03 million 3G subscribers and 7.5 million 2G users. It expects its 3G subscribers to rise to 2.2 million by the end of 2007 from 850,000 last year.

Hochen said he had started to lobby the government to amend regulations banning local telecom companies from investing in the industry in China or to offer services there.

"It will be a window. Once it closes, there will be no other big good opportunities," he said of the Chinese market.

Chunghwa Telecom also plans to take an indirect stake in a small mainland telecoe company through a third-country holding, as well as to invest in telecom operators in Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and Indonesia, he said.

The government's stake in Chunghwa Telecom has been reduced to 34.76 percent following its privatisation in August 2005.

Taiwan and China separated in 1949 at the end of a civil war between the Nationalists and Communists. While economic ties have grown in recent years, Taipei remains cautious about any investment on the mainland, especially by high-tech companies.

Separately, Chief Telecom Inc, a subsidiary of Chunghwa Telecom, said Tuesday it has obtained the island's first Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) license.

"We have won the first such VoIP license ... and we will provide VoIP services from the second half (of the year)," a Chief Telecom official said.

"We are awaiting phone numbers to be granted ... while we need to decide on products and to form an alliance with telecom firms before we can kick off such services," the official said.

2007-04-16T05:32:00.000-07:00

Analog cell service nears the finish line (USATODAY.com)

By Paul Davidson, USA TODAY

>

Regulators are poised to send the crackling and bulky analog cellphone to the scrap heap next February, denying a last-ditch appeal from a business group.

The shutdown of analog wireless networks Feb. 18 will mean lost service or disruptions for 500,000 GM car owners with OnStar emergency wireless service, up to 1 million alarm customers and a few million diehards who refuse to trade in their analog phones.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin is recommending the agency deny a petition by the alarm industry to delay the shutdown two years, FCC officials say. The industry says providers need more time to convert analog customers to digital. Most commissioners are likely to support Martin, officials say, noting alarm firms have had five years to upgrade subscriber equipment. They requested anonymity because commissioners have not voted on the matter.

In 2002, the FCC permitted cellphone carriers to turn off their analog networks by 2008. AT&T and Verizon, the only two national carriers with analog systems, say less than 1% of their combined subscriber bases, or about 1 million people, still use analog handsets.

Wireless carriers say it would cost several hundred million dollars to maintain the systems two more years, and the airwaves can be better used to improve digital coverage.

Tell that to subscribers of OnStar, a General Motors subsidiary. About 500,000 OnStar customers have analog systems that can't be converted due to their cars' electrical designs, says Bill Ball, OnStar's public policy chief. Most are in 2002 or earlier GM models. OnStar features include emergency services, remote door unlocking and vehicle diagnostics.

The company is offering a second free year of service to affected customers who buy an OnStar-equipped car. But that's little solace to Bob De Vries of Queens, N.Y., whose 2005 Buick Park Avenue will lose service Dec. 31.

"A safety feature is supposed to be good for the life of the car," says De Vries, 68.

A Pennsylvania couple are seeking class-action status for their lawsuit against GM.

Others affected:

Alarm customers: A million homes and businesses have analog wireless alarm systems. Some 135,000 are primary security systems, while the rest are back-ups for landline-based alarms, says Phillip McVey, head of business operations for ADT, the No. 1 provider. McVey says ADT is switching over customers, but digital gear wasn't available until several months ago. He says a "significant portion" of customers could lose service Feb. 18.

Rural areas: Analog cellphone systems are more vital there, as they can cover remote reaches. "There's still a lot of places where it's analog or nothing," says Tony Clark of the North Dakota Public Service Commission.

The hearing-impaired: Digital phones create a buzz in hearing aids. FCC-mandated noise-free models are being phased in.

2007-04-13T01:20:00.000-07:00

Sun buys mobile phone software maker SavaJe (InfoWorld)

Robert Mullins

>

San Francisco (IDGNS) - Sun said Thursday it plans to acquire the intellectual property of SavaJe Technologies, a provider of Mobile Java application development tools.

SavaJe offers the SavaJe Mobile Platform, an open Java platform that wireless service providers and handset makers can use to brand and add features to mobile phones.

Sun created the Java programming language and recently released the code to the open-source community for development of more Java applications.

Sun did not disclose how much it is paying for the privately-held SavaJe, but said it was a small enough amount that it need not be disclosed to shareholders of the publicly-traded Sun.

Sun promised more details about its plans for SavaJe at the JavaOne Conference scheduled for May 8-11 in San Francisco.

Sun said it expects to close the SavaJe asset acquisition by the end of June.

2007-04-11T01:28:00.000-07:00

Vodafone signs deal with Ericsson to manage part of its European networks (Canadian Press)

LONDON (AP) - Vodafone, the world's largest mobile phone company, said Tuesday it has signed a multimillion-dollar deal with equipment group Ericsson to manage part of its European networks.

Britain-based Vodafone Group PLC said Sweden-based LM Ericsson will manage the supply and distribution of spare parts to countries, including Germany, Spain and Portugal, as part of Vodafone's initiative to cut overheads in Europe.

Vodafone, the world's largest mobile phone operator by revenue, declined to provide further financial details.

Under the managed services agreement, Ericsson will be responsible for running the logistics, warehousing, repair and replacement of network equipment, including kit from rival equipment-makers.

Vodafone chief executive Arun Sarin said last May that the company was targeting major cost savings by consolidating and better managing operating and capital costs.

Vodafone shares rose 1.1 per cent to close at 138.20 pence (US$2.71) on the London Stock Exchange.

2007-04-10T00:49:00.000-07:00

Icahn ups Motorola stake to 2.9 pct from 2.7 pct (Reuters)

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Carl Icahn, who is pressing for a
board seat and changes at Motorola Inc. (NYSE:MOT - news), has raised his
stake of the struggling mobile phone maker's shares to 2.9
percent from 2.7 percent, according to a regulatory filing on
Monday.

The billionaire investor said in January he would seek a
board seat to push the No. 2 maker of mobile phones into using
some of its $11.3 billion cash pile to buy back more shares.

Icahn, who has agitated for change at many companies and is
also seeking board seats at WCI Communities Inc. (NYSE:WCI - news) and
Temple-Inland Inc. (NYSE:TIN - news), has lobbied for shareholders to
vote him to the board at Motorola's annual meeting on May 7.

Motorola, which has lost about a third of its market value,
or $22 billion, in the last five months due to a sharp fall in
phone prices and stiff competition, has urged shareholders not
to support Icahn.

2007-04-09T00:17:00.000-07:00

KDDI to enter US mobile phone market (AFP)

Sun Apr 8, 4:32 PM ET

TOKYO (AFP) - KDDI Corp. will become the first Japanese mobile carrier to start its brand in the US market by renting a network from a US company, reports said Sunday.

Japan's second-largest mobile provider will offer the service under the name "KDDI Mobile" by renting a wireless communications network from Sprint Nextel, Kyodo News said, quoting company officials.

KDDI plans to target Japanese customers in the United States by offering Japanese-language data input, as well as display and ring melodies familiar to them, it said.

The service could be running as early as June, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper said.

Japan's largest mobile phone service provider NTT DoCoMo Inc. has also been expanding overseas, mostly by licensing agreements for its popular "i-mode" Internet-capable mobile phone service.

NTT DoCoMo has also made capital investments in European and US telecom firms, but has scrapped most of them after losses.

KDDI's overseas expansion comes amid growing competition at home since October, when Japan began allowing mobile subscribers to switch carriers without changing their numbers.

Immediate confirmation of the report was not available.

Linux based Qtopia Greenphone

2006-08-16T02:02:00.000-07:00

Well, Im really hoping this takes off - its 2006 and the advanced phones are still pretty crummy in one way or another - Trolltech has just announced a new GSM/GPRS Linux based phone platform / SDK - Qtopia Greenphone is a Linux mobile development device open for unlimited software innovation. Offered as part of the Greenphone SDK, it makes Linux-based applications easier to build and faster to bring to market. This powerful GSM/GPRS device provides the perfect platform for creation, testing and demonstration of new mobile technology services and ships loaded with Qtopia Phone Edition. Link.

Using Skype and unlocking your T-Mobile SDA

2006-08-07T19:10:00.000-07:00

This is pretty neat, overclock a WiFi enabled phone to run Skype...Ken writes - "Today I have a special treat for any of you with a T-Mobile SDA like my own. I've decided to write a nice little article about how to unlock your SDA so that you can use it with any provider (T-Mobile, Cingular, Verizon, any provider with SIM cards). The added bonus here, however, is the piece of this article that explains how to overclock your SDA and install SKYPE for use over your WLAN network." Link.

Retro Handsets for your cellphone

2006-08-07T19:05:00.000-07:00

Sam writes - "As promised to all of you we ran into at the Maker Faire, here are instructions on making your own retro handsets for your cellphone. I apologize for the delay in posting - but one of you friendly Makers out in San Francisco was kind enough to share the black plague with me and I have been on the edge of death this week. I will cover bluetooth in this article, and will post about wired handsets a little later." - Link.

2006-06-26T19:17:00.000-07:00

Honeywell Unveils Industrial Wireless Roadmap
Whatisnew.com

The network will support various industrial protocols and up to 30,000 devices such as tablet PCs and sensors and will co-exist with other wireless devices like PDAs, pagers, walkie-talkies and cell phones.

2006-06-15T05:02:00.000-07:00

Manufacturers admit to Ultra Mobile PC problems
VNUNet.com

The UMPC, as specified by Microsoft, is a flat, handheld device midway in size between a smartphone or PDA and a notebook PC. It has a touch-sensitive screen, but no keyboard.

Other standard features include a version of Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, Bluetooth, an internal hard drive, and a wireless internet connection.

Criticism of early UMPCs has focused on high prices, poor battery life, and excessive weight and heat. The same criticisms have bedevilled past attempts at similar handheld PC concepts.

An AMtek representative, who did not wish to be named, conceded that manufacturers are concerned.

A major problem is that users are comparing UMPCs with what seems to them the most similar existing product, the notebook PC.

2006-06-02T19:54:00.000-07:00

FrogPad Announces the Seamless Integration of FrogPad Bluetooth Keyboards To UMPCs

FrogPad™ Inc. (www.frogpad.com ), maker of the revolutionary portable one-handed keyboard, FrogPad™ announces the seamless integration of FrogPad Bluetooth keyboard with Bluetooth enabled UMPCs using Microsoft Origami, such as Samsung Q1, Sony Vaio UX, Nokia 770 and Symbian Smartphones. Dubbed the iFrog, the new keyboard incorporates FrogPad’s patented ergonomic layout designed around the 15 most-used letters in the English alphabet with the latest wireless Bluetooth technology, and accomplishes 100% of all functions of a QWERTY keyboard. FrogPad is the premier keyboard that will make these products successful. What will you do with your other hand?

2006-04-27T18:43:00.000-07:00

Mobile-Review has a detail review of the upcoming W950i cell phone from Sony Ericsson. The next generation of Walkman music phone series offers a huge 4GB of internal memory, integrated RSD-enabled FM radio tuner, A2DP-enabled Bluetooth connectivity, and 13 hours of battery life. It runs on Symbian OS and comes with a ton of productivity software including Opera, QuickOffice, PDF Reader, and a PIM suite applications. Sony Ericsson W950i cell phone will be available in July 2006 for $740. Note than on the same month, Nokia will release their N73 cell phone too.

An excerpt from the review:

Evidently, that the model won’t become as popular as Sony Ericsson P990i (in terms of these particular segments, not the entire market), but it will reach a fair level of sales and increase offer due to being more highly tailored. The concept of providing big built-in storage makes this direction very promising, as the company can introduce models equipped with 6,8 and 10 Gb flash memory in a short space of time if required. Development of models, powered by hard drives is currently underway, but the market is more likely to get these models in next 18-20 months at best, because they are not mass products, and even more still have some considerable flaws, high development cost and following service.

2006-04-27T18:36:00.000-07:00

GSM(UMTS)-handsets Sony Ericsson K790/K800 – Part One

This material is unusual in its construction – as our permanent readers might already know, this means we are going to place high emphasis on the product due to its specifications. This article consists of several parts and your attention should be draw firstly to the one describing the camera...

2006-02-01T18:12:00.000-08:00

Radio trying to reinvent and compete

Randall's post yesterday on Clear Channel had great timing with regards to the radio industry. Truth be told, traditional radio is dying a slow, painful death. When satellite radio hit the airwaves, radio said "Why would you pay for something you get for free?" I suppose that the radio industry paid no attention to the pay-TV model that cable and satellite adopted in the last few decades.

Ironically, the radio industry is asking the same question today, but this time they are looking for a different answer. John Hogan, the CEO of Clear Channel's radio organization, just asked "Why would you pay for something you get for free?" This time he expects to win customers back with a similar radio model that's used by XM and Sirius. More channels and better quality, but all for free. Clear Channel expects to upgrade over 95% of their 1,200 radio stations to digital in the next two years.

Could we see digitial terrestrial bring a wave of new portable receivers or iPods with timeshifting and recording ability for digital or HD radio? Will podcasts be adopted by mainstream radio? Who knows, but one thing is certain: if the radio industry doesn't react quick enough this late in the game, you won't hear anything but static on that dial. What do you think terrestrial radio needs to do in order to compete? Or...is it too late?

2006-02-01T18:08:00.000-08:00

Albuquerque radio stations plan earlier HD launch

Five Clear Channel Communications (NYSE:CDL) radio stations in Albuquerque will go on the air with "high definition" radio side channels starting Feb. 3.

Twenty-eight radio markets around the nation are part of the systematic roll-out of HD digital radio, an advance in broadcasting that promises clearer sound and more formats airing alongside already established frequencies.

The first wave of HD broadcasts in the nation will begin Jan. 19 in San Francisco and New York City, part of a joint initiative by the HD Digital Radio Alliance, a joint effort of several radio broadcasters aimed at accelerating the introduction of the new technology. The biggest obstacle to widespread listening to HD radio is the availability of receivers, which the Alliance members hope to begin changing with HD radio giveaways in the coming months.

In Albuquerque, what had not been expected to take place for another two months now will be a reality in about two weeks, says Chuck Hammond, local Clear Channel manager. The equipment and modifications to transmitters to handle HD radio alrleady have been largely installed, Hammond says. The new formats, which are essentially related offshoots of existing stations, will operate commercial-free for about 18 months, he says.

The Duke City stations included in the Feb. 3 HD introduction range from country to rock.

At KZRR-94 Rock, the adjacent channel will air "deep tracks," or selections from rock albums played on the station. At 104.7-The Edge, which already airs alternative rock, an additional classic alternative format will be offered. Hot 95.1 FM, which now plays "old school and today's R&B," will add a separate format called new hip-hop. Clear Channel's 100.3-The Peak's HD channel will play adult album alternative music, which Hammond says will resemble a now-deceased format in Albuquerque called world class rock. The company's country outlet, Big I-107.9, will feature a format of country variety.

A sixth FM station owned by Clear Channel, Mega-104.1, which airs Hispanic-urban music, won't be among the first wave of HD roll-outs in Albuquerque. But Hammond says the necessary upgrades should be installed so the station can begin airing its planned channel that will feature Spanish oldies.

Listeners with HD radios will be able to hear the new formats by simply tuning to the usual FM channel, 94.1 FM, for instance, and then slightly changing the frequency to 94.1-1 for the new offering. In the meantime, the new formats will be streamed on the Internet at the stations' various Web sites.

Hammond, who says he's expecting to acquire his own HD radio shortly, adds that the stations involved in the roll-out in Albuquerque plan to give away 100 HD radios over the course of the next several months to promote the new technology.

The coming HD broadcasts are the not the first in the country. A few scattered stations are already on the air with the new formats, including a station in Denver.

Citadel Broadcasting Corp. (NYSE:CCU), another major corporate broadcaster in Albuquerque, also is expected to initiate HD broadcasts. Milt McConnell, the local Citadel manager, was not available to comment on the company's plans.

2006-02-01T18:05:00.000-08:00

XM SATELLITE RADIO AND NEURAL AUDIO ACHIEVE AUDIO BREAKTHROUGH WITH RADIO'S FIRST 24-HOUR CHANNELS IN 5.1 SURROUND SOUND

Denon, Onkyo, Pioneer, and Yamaha to introduce home audio systems that play select XM music channels and programs in XM HD Surround powered by Neural Audio

Washington D.C., December 28, 2005 -- XM Satellite Radio, the nation's leading satellite radio company, will broadcast select XM music channels in 5.1 Surround Sound, marking the first time that a radio company has broadcast in 5.1 Surround Sound twenty-four hours a day.

The audio breakthrough was announced today by XM and Neural Audio Corporation, a leading provider of digital signal processing and surround sound technology for the broadcast industry, in advance of the 2006 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES). The new offering of 5.1 Surround on XM is called XM HD Surround, which provides content with six discrete channels of digital full fidelity audio powered by Neural Audio technology.

Beginning in March 2006, XM will broadcast the free-form music channel Fine Tuning (XM Channel 76) and the classical pops music channel XM Pops (XM Channel 113) in XM HD Surround. XM will also broadcast a variety of special shows and live music performances at the XM studios in XM HD Surround.

XM manufacturing partners such as Denon, Onkyo, Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc., and Yamaha will introduce home audio systems capable of playing XM HD Surround powered by Neural Audio in 2006.

XM will demonstrate XM HD Surround broadcasts at the 2006 CES January 5-8 in the XM booth #4606 in the North Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center.

"XM is the first radio company -- satellite or terrestrial -- to broadcast 5.1 Surround Sound on the radio 24 hours a day," said Hugh Panero, XM President and CEO. "Terrestrial radio stations are just starting to convert from analog to digital. XM has been broadcasting in digital format since the day we launched in 2001, and now we are taking another leap forward with the introduction of 5.1 Surround in partnership with Neural Audio. XM HD Surround is the latest example of the technological edge that has made XM the number-one satellite radio company.

"XM was the first company to offer satellite radio, the first to introduce satellite radios for the car and home, and the first to offer portable, live satellite radios. Now we're the first to offer radio channels in 5.1 Surround every minute of every day. We have an outstanding partnership with Neural Audio, which shares the same passion for high-quality sound that we have at XM," Panero added.

"XM HD Surround is setting the bar at a new level with surround sound that enriches the listener's experience with full envelopment and image detail never before available in traditional broadcast," said Geir R. Skaaden, Neural Audio CEO. "We are excited to partner with XM to provide the largest source of 5.1 original music content of any medium today."

Home audio systems enabled with Neural Surround will deliver the full surround experience of XM HD Surround. These broadcasts can also be heard on any existing mono, stereo, or matrix style receiver.

About XM Satellite Radio
XM (NASDAQ: XMSR) is America's number one satellite radio service with more than five million subscribers. Broadcasting live daily from studios in Washington, DC, New York City and Nashville at the Country Music Hall of Fame, XM offers 160 digital channels of choice from coast to coast: the most commercial-free music channels, plus premier sports, talk, comedy, children's and entertainment programming; and the most advanced traffic and weather information.

XM, the leader in satellite-delivered entertainment and data services for the automobile market through partnerships with General Motors, Honda, Toyota, Hyundai, Nissan and Volkswagen/Audi, is available in more than 130 different vehicle models for 2006. XM's industry-leading products are available at consumer electronics retailers nationwide. For more information about XM hardware, programming and partnerships, please visit http://www.xmradio.com.

About Neural Audio
Neural Audio Corporation, an audio development company specializing in digital signal processing solutions for broadcast and consumer electronics, is the developer of Neural Surround™, a proprietary audio format that embeds the rich envelopment and discrete image detail of surround sound and is 100% compatible with stereo content. Chosen by XM Satellite Radio as the format for their 24/7 XM HD Surround programming, Neural Surround™ will introduce the excitement of surround music to a broad audience. Neural Surround™ is supported by major home theater brands and automotive OEM's and is expected to be available in more than 50% of surround sound receivers starting in Spring '06. Neural Audio Corporation is a privately owned company headquartered in Kirkland, WA. For more information; http://www.neuralsurround.com.

2005-11-21T18:05:00.000-08:00

IPTV will offer a lot more choice and interactivity

TV delivered into living rooms over broadband connections will completely change TV as well as the internet as we know it, concludes a major report.

IPTV (internet protocol TV), as it is known, is a budding area that is exciting telecoms and media companies.

Within a decade, says the report from Lovelace Consulting and informitv, TV delivered to sets over the net will be an established way to receive content.

TV will be much more web-like, with millions of shows to download.

Within five years, the authors predict, many households will have their TV piped through a satellite dish, rooftop aerial or cable network, and through a broadband phone line.

TVs will be hooked up to set-top boxes which are in turn hooked up to the broadband pipe too. The broadcast and on-demand programmes it will be able to receive will be in standard as well as high-definition formats.

'Limitless selection'

"New players will exploit the disruptive power of the internet and change the form and function of television forever," said Dr William Cooper, co-author of the report.

There is a willingness of TV broadcasters to extend their reach and they are joining with telcos in that environment

Jean-Christophe Dessange, Cisco

"Broadband television will ultimately adopt the attributes of the web, providing access to an almost limitless selection of programmes."

IPTV does not rely on the limited broadcast network to transmit programmes. It used internet technology so there is a limitless capacity for more programmes.

Up until now, the report suggests, net-based innovations and developments in digital TV were more or less separate worlds.

But now, the two are very much converging and some even suggest that the majority of video and audio content will be received in households over the net in the longer term, according to the report.

In your hands

The technology is currently more widespread in the rest Europe than in the UK because of faster and cheaper broadband.

But this is changing as UK net service providers up the minimum speeds of connections and prices fall.

NTL, for instance, is to boost the basic entry level for its broadband subscribers to 10Mbps next year.

Our TVs will become a lot more interesting bits of kit

"The 'pull' of broadband network television will replace the 'push' of traditional broadcast television," explained co-author Graham Lovelace.

This means that the control of what programmes and content is available to watch will move out of the hands of the traditional broadcasters and into the hands of the viewer.

Traditional broadcasters have been wrestling with with technologies such as PVRs (personal video recorders) which allow viewers to take more control over what and when they watch.

But IPTV has the potential to disrupt that even more. Hundreds of different programmes could be sent to different homes at the same time.

Broadband delivery of TV will also change what viewers will be able to do while watching TV.

It provides the perfect platform for genuinely interactive television, according to the report.

Cornerstone year

Jean-Christophe Dessange, broadband entertainment development manager for networking giant Cisco, told the BBC News website that the future possibilities for IPTV are extremely exciting.

"I believe in Europe, 2006 will be a cornerstone, a changing year," he said.

"There is not one telco that does not ask me about IPTV today, and they were the same ones that two years ago that told me it would never work," according to Mr Dessange.

New and more efficient video encoding techniques - the Mpeg4 standard - allow for cost effective transport of video.

Improved infrastructure, as well as the uptake and speed of broadband technologies to deliver it, have also helped.

"There is a willingness of TV broadcasters to extend their reach and they are joining with telcos in that environment," says Mr Dessange.

One of the key areas in the next decade will be interactivity. But it is not just the interactive TV experience that UK digital viewers have now.

CBeebies, the BBC's toddler's channel, as well as sports programmes, have successfully experimented with iTV.

But increasingly, with the latest video encoding technology, viewers will be able to trigger events while they watch video. Or you could choose just to focus on one participant in a TV interview.

If you watch a programme and see a watch you like you could feasibly select it and buy it online while still watching your show.

But the real power of IPTV could be in its convenience and range of choice which the viewer will subsequently have, such as micro-local content.

People could tune into live traffic camera streams, or film their own football teams to put on a local IPTV channel, as they do in Norway.

In Italy, one man uses IPTV to deliver news to the rest of his apartment block; another films himself having breakfast with his blow-up doll.

Whatever the content, Mr Dessange says it is exciting that there are many more new distribution channels.

"People are using BitTorrent and portals, allowing you to have access to movies, Yahoo, Google, MSN. All those guys are grabbing audiences on the net.

"This is at the expense of classic media."

It is a challenge that traditional media need to take seriously, says Mr Dessange, because people only have a specific time period to watch TV, and they are spending some of that time online instead.

BBC Wednesday, 14 September 2005