Telecommunications
Smartphone trend report shows continuing growth
The latest metrics data from advertising firm AdMob provides an interesting snapshot of the continuing rise of smartphone usage in the global marketplace. Smartphones now account for more than a quarter (25.8%) of worldwide traffic according to the company's August figures with the Nokia N70 leading the pack with an 11.7% share. In the US, the BlackBerry 8100 is the weapon of choice garnering 14.7% of traffic but the big mover - somewhat unsurprisingly, is Apple's iPhone, which the report found to be the fastest growing device in the world last month putting it into fourth spot in the US where its traffic doubled (7.8%) and ninth globally ( 3.8%). Read More
DonateBandwidth uses Torrent model to increase internet speeds in developing countries
DonateBandwidth, a project in the alpha phase of testing, will allow users to download data for each other in a fashion similar to BitTorrent. The project aims to establish a communal cache in order to streamline Internet browsing in countries where ISPs are not yet up to the task. Read More
BlueAnt V1 voice controlled Bluetooth headset
BlueAnt Wireless has launched the V1 Headset, a totally hands-free unit billed as the "world’s first fully voice controlled Bluetooth 2.1 headset". The new headset allows users to dial and control other call functions on their phone without even looking at it. Read More
Universal mobile phone jammer with 32 foot radius
The Hand-held Portable Universal Cell Phones Jammer allows users to block a range of mobile phone frequencies to provide a 32 foot (9 meter) radius cone of silence... but before whipping out that credit card be warned that these devices are illegal in many parts of the world, including the US. Read More
IOCELL's Contents Phone records phone calls to internal hard drive
July 28, 2008 IOCELL's Contents Phone includes a built-in hard drive that enables the hassle-free recording of POTS telephone conversations. Read More
iPhone app helps you find your parked car
Here's a handy iPhone application that's set to launch tomorrow when the iPhone 3G drops around the world: G-park is a very simple program. When you park your car, you hit "park me" and it drops a GPS flag on your current location. When you can't remember where you parked, you just hit "where did I park?" and Google maps gives you turn-by-turn directions back to your car. Read More
Sharp flip top, swivel screen mobile phone launches in Japan
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Sharp has released a new clamshell mobile phone in Japan that boasts a swiveling 3.3-inch, 480 x 845 resolution AQUOS LCD display. The Sharp 923SH can be used as a traditional clamshell handset when making calls, then transformed into a mobile widescreen TV by turning the screen on its side and taking advantage of the in-built 1Seg, (Japan’s mobile terrestrial digital broadcasting service), tuner. The phone’s battery is good for around 4 hours and 45 minutes of continuous digital TV viewing or approximately 240 minutes of continuous talk time. Read More
Motorola’s “Napolean” Q9 world phone
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July 8, 2008 The folks at Boy Genius Report have got their hands on a new Motorola smartphone codenamed the “Napolean”. It’s a CDMA EV-DO Rev. A Q9 with full GSM world roaming capabilities, including the U.S. 850MHz/1900MHz bands. Features of the phone revealed so far include a fingerprint scanner, Windows Mobile 6.1, quad-band EDGE, 2 megapixel camera with flash, stereo speakers, 320×240 resolution screen, Wi-Fi, and a 1500mAh battery. BGR report the full QWERTY keyboard isn’t as good as the first Q9 or Q9m, and the d-pad is a little on the stiff side and difficult to use but the sound was good, and the screen seems to be the same as the original Q9s. The leaked phone is Verizon branded and will launch on Verizon, but BGR confirmed the phone also worked fine with an AT&T SIM. Read More
Samsung OMNIA brings a PC environment to your mobile
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Samsung has unveiled its new all-in-one maxi-phone, complete with multimedia enhanced smartphone features. The OMNIA (Latin for “everything”) brings together your work and personal life by coupling high performance business content with style and a fun. Read More
AwareSpot location based alert system for mobile phones
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Developed by the makers of the Trapster, AwareSpot is a new location based service for mobile phone users with a variety of applications. The free service is designed so that police, public safety and community service organizations, media, clubs, businesses, and more can quickly and easily set up community alert broadcast channels that deliver location based, relevant, timely information to their audiences. Read More
Sqish: the camouflaged satellite dish
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Maybe satellite dishes were some kind of status symbol, but now that the novelty has worn off they just look like big and ugly hunks of metal on your roof. The Sqish, a rectangular wall-mounted dish, has circumvented this problem in an unusual way – when you order your dish, you send in a picture of your wall, and they send you a “squishoflage” sticker to cover the offending protuberance. Read More
TANDBERG debuts 1080p telepresence system
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Saving on time, travel expenses and making instant face-to-face communications possible over huge distances, video-conferencing has become a must have technology for doing business in the 21st century. The latest offering from TANDBERG, the T1, is the company's first telepresence system to incorporate 1080p resolution and features a slim-line 65" custom LCD screen, high quality stereo sound and a PrecisionHD 1080p camera designed to enhance direct eye contact. Read More
Timetranslator delivers world times to your mobile phone
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May 8, 2008 With mobile phone calls become more and more affordable, many people use them to dial internationally. This then begs the question: what time is it there? The Timetranslator is a software solution converts numbers in your phone into the local time at the destination being called. Read More
Clarity's C420 amplified telephone
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Clarity, a division of Plantronics, has developed the C420 amplified telephone to help those who suffer from hearing loss to improve the quality of their conversations. The cordless phone is equipped with Clarity Power, designed to make phone conversations clearer and easier to understand for people with a mild to moderate hearing loss. Read More
C2Call: browser-based VOIP phone calls
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April 11, 2008 C2Call has begun public beta testing of what's billed as the "world's true first browser based VoIP software" - a free Internet telephony service that works without installation in a process similar to using web-based email.
The world's fastest and cheapest internet connectivity
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April 7, 2008 Computerworld Malaysia is reporting that Broadband over Powerline (BPL) provider Velchip Sdn Bhd has formalised three major partnerships to advance the world’s biggest BPL project announced earlier this month. The project intends offering 60 million people unlimited high speed Internet connection of 224Mbps (megabits per second) at a cost of only around RM5 (US$1.58) per user per month. It’s the fastest and cheapest internet connectivity in the world. Read More
Merging home and mobile phone: XLink Bluetooth Gateway
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March 12, 2008 Nowadays many people use their mobile phone number as their primary contact number, which makes sense with most people carrying their mobile phones with them wherever they go. Once back at the home though, a lot of people prefer to use a regular telephone. The Xlink Bluetooth Gateway from Intellitouch is a phone convergence solution that by lets users combine their landline service and SOHO telephone system with up to three Bluetooth mobile phones and receive or make calls to and from their mobile phone using a standard home/office telephone. Read More
Logitech to release wireless stereo VoIP headset
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March 7, 2008 As the rapid growth of VoIP communications continues (Skype for example, had 276 million user accounts at the end of 2007 and almost 8 million people are shown as online as this article is being written), its no surprise to learn that computer peripheral specialist Logitech has entered the wireless headset market. The Logitech® ClearChat PC is the company’s first wireless stereo headset designed for Internet calling with a PC and uses 2.4 GHz wireless technology and a USB transmitter to deliver a cordless link that's effective at up to a distance of 33 feet (10 meters) from the computer. Read More
Unison comm system combines phone, email, voicemail and instant messaging
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February 28, 2008 Unison Technologies is launching a beta version of its fully-unified communications system at this years CeBIT. The Unison Server, combined with the Unison Desktop software, provides users with a simple, cost-effective system that integrates telephone calls, voicemail, email, instant messaging and collaboration. Read More
European mobile calls to exceed fixed line
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February 11, 2008 According to new research from Analysys, the average volume of mobile voice calls will exceed that of traditional fixed networks in Western Europe as a whole for the first time as soon as the second quarter of 2008. Read More
Callpod Dragon Bluetooth 2.0 Headset offers 100+ meter range
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February 4, 2008 Callpod Inc’s Dragon Bluetooth headset for mobile phones, PDAs, VOIP products and computers boasts a range of 100 meters or 328 feet – a big step up over the standard 10 meter or 30 feet range common for Bluetooth headsets. The Dragon also silences ambient noise and annoying pops and clicks with its proprietary Dual-Mic Noise Suppression technology, which isolates the user’s voice while removing background noise. In addition, the Dragon can connect with the PC for Skype calls while on a mobile call, allowing users to switch between the PC and mobile phone with a press of a button. Read More
New embedded GPS modules for mobile devices to slash costs
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January 22, 2008 Wireless technology provider CSR, in collaboration with Samsung, has announced the development of a new module that it says will halve the cost of embedding GPS solutions in mobile phones, media players and personal navigation devices. Read More
EyeCatcher 3.5 video phone has environmental focus
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GreenEyes has announced version 3.5 of its unique video phone solution. The EyeCatcher looks a bit like an oversized portable DVD player and is designed to help reduce business travel costs and emissions by linking up professionals with their out of state/country associates. Read More
Mobile phone sales continue to soar
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November 30, 2007 According to new research from Gartner, sales of mobile phones in the third quarter of this year reached 289 million worldwide. Sales for the full year are expected to hit around 1.134 billion handsets sales to end users, a marked increase on last year. Read More
Konftel 300 high-tech conference phone
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November 28, 2007 Setting itself the lofty goal of producing the "world’s best conference phone", Konfitel has announced the Konftel 300 - a device that features multiple connectivity options, recording to SD memory card, the ability to store up to 20 groups for easy replication of conference calls and a 360 degree microphone optimized for large meeting rooms that automatically filters out background noise. Read More
U.S wireless subscription passes quarter-billion mark
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November 15, 2007 According to the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA), the total estimated wireless subscribership in America has officially passed the 250 million mark. Growth in subscribership has more than quadrupled over the past ten years from just over 55 million at year-end 1997 to more than 250 million today. This represents an increase of 352%. Read More
Entering the era of integrated communications
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October 25, 2007 Internet based telephony is nothing new with applications like Skype becoming firmly established in recent years, but fresh initiatives from Microsoft and new approaches such as Voxio’s Flash-based system indicate the continuing expansion of integrated communications into the mainstream.. Read More
VTech releases Bluetooth capable cordless phone
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October 11, 2007 Cordless phone manufacturer VTech Communications, Inc. has announced the release of the LS5145, a 5.8 GHz Digital Spread Spectrum expandable cordless phone system incorporating Bluetooth wireless capabilities allowing users to make and receive both cellular and landline calls on the handset. Read More
Virgin Mobile 3jam ‘SMS 2.0’ service for group TXT
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September 27, 2007 We are all familiar with the convenience of the “reply all” function when using email to enable us to have group discussions. Virgin Mobile USA has adapted the same principal to TXT to enable phone users to stay in touch with groups of friends.
Underground communication system a potential lifesaver
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September 22, 2007 Since the beginning of 2006, mining disasters around the world have claimed over 200 lives, a statistic that makes clear the value of this unique two-way "through-the-earth" communication system. Australian company Tiller + Tiller, in association with Mine Site Technologies, have designed the Integrated Communications Cap Lamp, a device aimed at ensuring that miners can instantly and easily be contacted with potentially life saving information about emergencies and evacuation routes in the event of accidents underground. Read More
Mini Bluetooth headset cancels background noise for clear mobile conversations
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August 27, 2007 Background noise can make mobile phone conversations in bars, clubs and noisy workplaces virtually incomprehensible – which is why BlueAnt’s new Z9 Bluetooth headset features smart noise cancellation and voice boosting software. The difference is profound – with this tiny, 10-gram device you can now have natural, clear phone conversations in the noisiest environments. Read More
Smartphone adoption growing fast: WiFi phone sales expected to top $145 billion in 2010
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July 30, 2007 Mobile phone penetration rates around the world are showing up some interesting trends - notably developing markets are selling more phones than ever but making less money as competition tightens. Developed markets are seeing a strong swing away from basic handsets toward more advanced Smartphones – a trend that will only be enhanced by the huge popularity of mass-market targeted handsets like the iPhone, which are starting to make these devices attractive to the consumer market as opposed to just business customers. Other interesting trends include the increasing number of dual-mode WiFi/Cellular phones that can seamlessly switch between local wireless internet connections and 2G cell phone networks to make optimal use of the economic efficiency of the former and the broad coverage of the latter. Read More
“Tornado emergency hotline. Please hold.” - ROSETTA emergency comm. kit puts order back in crisis
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July 18, 2007 In this new age where communication, not ammunition, is the deciding factor in warfare. The ROSETTA-911, a rapid response communications system developed by Platforms Wireless International Corporation, has shown that not only is it effective in battles, but can also assist emergency workers in saving lives. The system enables disparate VHF, UHF, 800 MHz radios, cellular and land-line (secured) telephones, and Internet/VOIP to interconnect and communicate with each other, regardless of differences in equipment makes or brands, communications protocols, and/or communications backbone systems. After successfully demonstrating an earlier model to the US Department of Defense in 2006, PWIC has recently announced the readiness of its new and improved version. Read More
The other iPhone: Linksys' cordless landline with in-built Skype support
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July 9, 2007 Linksys has stepped into the market with an iPhone of its own - it's nothing to do with Apple's hysterically successful new mobile unit though. The Linksys iPhone is a dual-mode telephone that can operate like a normal landline or hook up to your computer to make or receive peer-to-peer internet voice calls using a Skype client that's loaded directly into the handset. While the quality of Skype connections can range from crystal-clear to highly dodgy, the prices (free worldwide Skype-to-Skype and very cheap international/long distance calls) have made it an extremely popular way to stay in touch; many look upon Skype as the landline version 2.0. The no-frills Linksys iPhone lets you make and answer calls from the landline and Skype in one integrated unit. It looks to be a fantastic tool for heavy Skype users, and will no doubt encourage others to make the switch to internet telephony. Read More
The GlobeSurfer ICON – plug and play wireless broadband
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June 26, 2007 Dutch wireless technology company Option N.V. has one of the simplest internet connectivity solutions on the planet, and one which has become the focal point of a new Scandinavian campaign by Telenor Norway. Weighing just 40 grams, the GlobeSurfer ICON is a self-contained wireless access device which attaches to and draws its power from a PC USB port and provides instant internet access at 3.6 Mbps download (upgradeable to 7.2 Mbps) using HSDPA, 364 kbps upload using UMTS and in areas beyond 3G, it enables reliable 247 kbps data connections over EDGE. Drivers are auto install, there’s a built-in control applet, and one-button connect which all contribute to extraordinary user-friendliness. Read More
