Cell Phone Guru

The cell phone giant, Nokia, seems to have something for everybody. They have announced their readiness to release their ‘entry level’ mobile device later in November this year. The Nokia 2135 is a successor of the 2125 and has been waited for patiently for by die-hard Nokia fans since Nokia announced it’s release over two years ago.

Hands Free: This latest CDMA mobile device includes a speakerphone system for ease of hands-free operation. The speakerphone is powerful enough to use while walking around a room and attending to other chores while leaving the phone on the desktop.

Bright color display: The bright 96 x 65 pixel chromatic display with 65536 colors makes viewing numbers, text and images easier with less of a strain on the eyes. This makes using the 2135 a pleasure. Combine this display with the sound output and you have a state of the art multimedia player to enjoy hours of entertainment.

Hearing impaired support: The phone has a telecommunication device for the deaf and hearing aid compatibility rating that is suitable for any hearing impaired person.

Touch screen interface: Nokia also announced that they will be adding a touch screen technology to their S60 range of smart phones. This new technology will have something of a feed-back system where a user will feel a pulse when touching the screen of the handset. The new technology will also be compatible with stylus technology enabling the user to use both finger tips as well as a stylus to operate the system.

Perhaps the most important of all announcements is the innuendo message sent to Apple by Nokia, in that they will be using the omnipotent ‘Flash technology’ in their latest release to the cell phone market, a reminder that even leaders have parallels in their dominated inches.

1. Apple is in the news again, this time it is because of their i-mate 8150 smart phone that is designed to run Windows technology.

2. This little gizmo is actually targeted and primarily designed for use in the U.S. but it will not be long before the technology infiltrates the international market, or is adapted to be used internationally.

3. The features of the i-mate mobile 6 include full connectivity through quadrilateral band radio connectivity in the range of 850 to 1900 Mega Hertz frequencies.

4. It also comes loaded with a ‘tri-band’ support that operates in the 850 to2100 Mega Hertz range of the W-Code Division Multiple Access technology or ‘WCDMA’ as it is popularly known. This little communication tool well supports WiFi technology and the omnipresent ‘Bluetooth’ technology as well. So now you can listen to your favorite music with a quality headset that supports 2ADP technology.

5. The makers of the i-mate have not left out the all-important aspect of connecting the i-mate to the personal computer either. They have enabled users of the i-mate to communicate with their PCs through a mini-Universal Serial Port and have also included a ‘Micro-SD card’ expansion port in case one wanted to increase the memory capacity of the cell phone.

6. All this said, we must not fail to mention the two mega pixel digital image device most of us will refer to as a ‘camera’ but seems to make more sense when we use the one built into the i-mate. Though two mega pixel is not too great a resolution in present times, the i-mate seems to be able to create magical images with the technology.

It is no wonder that people are rushing to get this micro-slim, ultra light handset into their pockets, if for noting else but just to show off their latest communication gizmo.

There is no dearth of cell phone plans to choose from, and you could easily get confused and wind up getting a plan that is not suited to your needs at all. In fact, you will probably end up paying for features and services that you do not actually need.

1. The best way to go about choosing the best cell phone plan is to take some time and analyze your communication needs. You could do this by deciding how much you will be actually using your mobile, this means determining how many hours you will actually be talking on the phone. Many plans are designed for small-time users and most for business users.

2. You need to choose between a ‘post-paid plan’ (the phone company will bill you each month) and a ‘pre-paid plan’ (you buy a certain amount of usage time). Many people prefer the post-paid plan as you get a detailed bill of all the calls you make, leaving little or no scope for dispute as in pre-paid plans.

3. Try to get an unlimited night-time and weekend plan if you plan to use your phone during these times.

4. Check if the service provider is charging you roaming and if they are, what the boundaries of your non-roaming area are.

5. Most mobile companies do not charge for incoming calls, but you need to check this important factor with your company to avoid any disappointment.

So, choose a plan that offers a good deal for usage during off-prime usage time, if you plan to use your phone during the time of weekends.

Naomi Campbell may have used her cell phone as a weapon however she is not our role model here. The cell phone industry has started invading the dominated credit card niche of the financial jungle. Your cell phone could well be your next credit card!

Can you imagine using your cell phone as a credit card or an electronic medium to make payments for products and services you purchase? Can you also imagine using your cell phone as a pass or entrance ticket to a venue? If you can then you are definitely up with the times of M-Commerce.

Cell phone as an entrance ticket: The cell phone industry is paving the way for the use of mobile handsets and mobile services for the above mentioned services, and many of the cell phone companies have already established mobile commerce to some extent. Mobiles are designed to receive bar codes in the form of short messaging services (SMS), these bar codes can be read quite easily with a hand-held bar code reader from the display of the cell phone. This is how the cell phone can be used as a ticket, pass or a gift coupon to purchase something from a mall or store.

Cell phone credit: Then there is the technology of using your mobile phone as a payment device. Many of you will have experienced recharging your mobile accounts by transferring an amount from one mobile to another. This is exactly the way you would be making payments in the near future. Go to a store, buy what you need and then pay through your mobile phone by typing in a code that transfers the amount to the vendors account and you are billed in your next billing cycle. So, get set to take extra care of your mobile, your bank in your pocket.

Wondering what to get your hip-hop cultured teens for christmas? Sprint has your answer — the new B’Phone.

No, it’s not what you think — it’s the latest partnership deal sprint has made to create a new hybrid cross-industry product. Nike’s had MJ. Buick has Tiger. Now, Sprint has Beyonce.

The Beyonce-branded phone is a customized version of the UpStage music phone that will offer exclusive Beyonce photos, videos and doubles as an MP3 player. 

The phone, released October 11th in New York, boasts a gold and burgundy color color scheme reportedly designed by Beyonce. Will this be the first of many star-branded phones to come?

Nokia announced that it has come to terms to buy GPS systems powerhouse Navteq for a rumored 8.1 billion dollars. GPS-enabled phones will become the norm for Nokia over the next 2 years.

This acquisition positions the cell phone manufacturer for strong growth in the consumer sector which is demanding more interactive and functional uses from cell phones in today’s market.

“Location based services are one of the cornerstones of Nokia’s Internet services strategy. The acquisition of Navteq is another step toward Nokia becoming a leading player in this space,” said Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, President and CEO, Nokia. “By joining forces with Navteq, we will be able to bring context and geographical information to a number of our Internet services with accelerated time to market. We also look forward to maintaining and enhancing the services and support provided to Navteq’s existing and future customers.”

I give this move two thumbs up — keep it coming Nokia!

The latest chapter in the iPhone saga is shaping up to be the lawsuit over the software update on September 28th that users claim was designed to intentionally disable iPhones that had been unlocked for use on other networks.

The suit was filed on October 5th in San Jose, California seeking damages of $200 million.

If this lawsuit makes it’s way up the courts, it could turn into a class action suit worth many millions more. Here’s my beef — what does Apple have to gain by limiting it’s exposure to AT&T? I just don’t get it. I would probably have bought an iPhone if it weren’t for having to switch, therefore incurring cancellation fees from my ‘other’ network. I knew that all of the unlocking hype would eventually warrant a corporate response and decided to steer clear of it all.

With all of the positive press and cool points that Apple has accrued since the release of the iPod, why risk turning consumers against the brand name by releasing updates that make the unlocked phones useless? Didn’t they learn from their failures in the PC market that those kind of proprietary restrictions are suicidal?

I hope that Apple eventually moves away from AT&T exclusivity. It’s the smart move.

 UPDATE: I just saw that there is another lawsuit filed in San Francisco for $1.6 billion. See the apple lawsuit PDF. The Holman-Rivello lawsuit claims that the iPhone 1.1.1 update was intended to cause “irreparable damage” to unlocked iPhones. The suit goes on to claim that, “Apple and AT&T agreed to go beyond these [previous] tactics and to take affirmative steps to break the iPhones of consumers who lawfully unlocked the AT&T SIM card or who installed third-party apps.”

Not good news for apple… I’ll keep you posted with any other updates.

With the FCC no longer requiring wireless companies to maintain analog networks after February 2008, Alltel is the first big player to officially announce that it will drop all analog support beginning in March 2008.

The bottom line? This is a good move for the company who became famous for it’s commercials mocking Sprint, Verizon, AT&T and Cingular networks. Who really uses analog phones anymore?

 Expect other carriers to follow suit in the near future — it just doesn’t make economic sense to maintain these networks for end-use. The real question is — with the sale of Alltel to the Goldman-Sachs group – what is next for the company vying to be the innovator in the telecom industry?

 Only time will tell…

Over the next 5 years, Linux is expected to be the fastest growing Smartphone OS with a compound annual growth rate in excess of 75%. A recent study from ABI Research forecasts the Linux-based OS to account for nearly 31% of all smart devices in the market by 2012 — representing more than 331 million cumulative shipments over the same period.
Research director Stuart Carlaw states, “Serious initiatives from the likes of Intel and Access are gathering pace and momentum, whilst the carrier community continues to identify Linux as one of the few operating systems that it intends to support in its long-term plans.” Carlaw adds, “Linux is benefiting from growing support in the handset OEM community, most notably Motorola, but also Nokia with less traditional types of devices aimed at mobile broadband applications.” The rise of mobile broadband and the impact that this has upon device convergence and format plays into the hands of Linux.

The vertical and horizontal fragmentation that has plagued this market continues to be a concern; however, the recent patent infringement assertions from Microsoft — that Linux, in its generic form, infringes upon 235 of its patents — is an ongoing concern. Many Linux pundits point to this as being old hat, while others indicate that there is no smoke without fire.
“Linux has had peaks and troughs in the mobile industry, but it’s looking quite positive at the moment,” said Matt Lewis, research director at ARCchart. The market research company recently issued a report entitled “Linux: The New OS Celebrity.”

So what’s in the future for linux and smartphones?

Linux and Palm

Palm has been rumored to be launching a linux-based smartphone in October of 2007. If this is true and it succeeds, it will be a big step for the linux advocates in the mobile arena. Landing a deal with Palm ensures the future of a linux-based OS for a long time to come in the PDA world(Source: engadget)
What makes this especially interesting is that Microsoft has failed so miserably with their attempts at Windows mobile. For those of you who purchased the Samsung Blackjack and Motorola Q – you already know why. For those of you who didn’t, consider yourself lucky. While the sleek look of these slim-line phones is sexy, the use and operability is anything but.

Personally, I was excited about the Moto Q. Went out and got one the first week they were on the market, took it home and had one problem after another. Configuration Conflicts. Crashes. Poor Usability. Poor

Battery life. I ended up selling my Moto Q on craigslist and went back to Blackberry after a month of ‘giving it a chance.’ Enough on that diatribe though…

It also looks like Google is considering linux for the platform on it’s upcoming phone. I just saw an article on informationweek that sounds pretty promising. “So, if we piece together all these rumors, the Google Phone will be cheap (probably around $100 or less), run on some form of Linux OS that Google has helped design through its acquisition of Android, and have integrated GPS and GoogleMaps.”

NEW YORK, Aug 29 (Reuters) - U.S. rural wireless service provider Alltel Corp (AT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Wednesday that its shareholders approved the company’s sale to private equity firms TPG Capital and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners.

Results from a special meeting showed around 97 percent of votes were cast in favor of the purchase. Those votes represented around 73 percent of the total shares outstanding, the company said.

The sale, worth around $25 billion, is still pending approval from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.

My rough calculations show that shareholders stand to profit on average anywhere from $15-20 per share. That’s a nice piece of change — the stock that has fluctuated around the $50 mark. Not bad at all. I wish I would have bought in 6 months ago… Oh how hindsight is 20/20.

It also looks good from the GS end. Alltel was holding approximately 3 billion in debt at the time of the buyout. That may sound like a lot to the average joe, but that isn’t very much leverage to work with when you are playing with the likes of AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, etc.

NewsVisual does a great job of analyzing the corporate ties the two companies have, and elaborating on how much brighter the future looks with GS on board. A highly recommended read here.

Picture source and credits. (Interactive Version of Image — IE Only)

This buyout should provide the capital outlay that Alltel needs to challenge the big boys in the industry. The deal is rumored to be structured to lay as much as $15 billion in the hands of marketing and operations executives once it is finalized.

Welcome to the big leagues, Alltel.