Cell Phone Guru

Sprint Nextel today announced plans to spend as much as $5 billion by the end of 2010 on a new network based on the emerging high-speed wireless technology known as WiMAX.

WiMAX is a wireless technology that Sprint wants to use to blanket entire cities, enabling wireless Internet access on everything from cell phones and laptops to video game players and cameras. The technology is expected to support Internet access at speeds up to five times faster than typical wireless networks, though it is still slower than wired broadband such as DSL.

To be marketed under the XOHM brand (pronounced ZOAM), a soft launch of the WiMAX network is expected by the end of 2007 in the Chicago and Baltimore/Washington markets. XOHM commercial services are expected to be available beginning in the first half of 2008.

“We’ve executed the technology plan we laid out when we merged two years ago, and, in doing so, we have advanced our vision of becoming the mobility services leader,” said Gary Forsee, Sprint Chairman and CEO. “Our unique set of assets allows consumers to live the mobile lifestyle and businesses to increase productivity by making any place a workplace. Sprint is best positioned in the marketplace to offer these capabilities.”

Under its planned network sharing agreement with Clearwire, Sprint Nextel expects to reach 100 million people by the end of 2008 with Sprint providing coverage to 70 million and Clearwire to 30 million people. Sprint’s coverage is expected to grow to approximately 125 million people by the end of 2010. At that level of buildout, the potential market would include an estimated 48 million U.S. households, nearly 5 million small office/home office subscribers, and more than 130 million consumer electronics devices.

Cell phone giant Nokia will start to use Microsoft’s copy protection software to boost the use of wireless entertainment, like music and videos, the two companies said today.

Microsoft’s PlayReady technology allows users of Nokia cell phones to share protected pieces of content - like music, games or videos - between phones, PCs and other devices. Nokia will license the digital rights management (DRM) technology, and build it into its S60 software platform.

For consumers, PlayReady brings flexible ways to manage their digital content between online, home and mobile devices. For example, a consumer could purchase content directly from their Nokia device and then transfer the content to enjoy on other designated devices, such as PCs or mobile devices.

Microsoft PlayReady is designed for digital entertainment services, devices and applications. The technology supports a range of business models that can be applied to almost any type of digital content (music, video, games, ringtones, images and more) and a wide range of audio and video formats (including Windows Media Audio (WMA), Windows Media Video (WMV), AAC, AAC+, AMR and H.264).

Microsoft released the PlayReady Porting Kit for mobile devices in early August 2007, and expects the first services using Microsoft PlayReady technology to appear in 2008. In addition, Microsoft has designed PlayReady to be fully backward-compatible with Windows Media DRM 10, which means that devices supporting PlayReady can access existing Windows Media DRM-based content as well as new PlayReady content services.

Google has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in a prototype cell phone that could reach markets within a year, and is courting U.S. and European mobile operators, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

Showing the prototype to cell phone manufacturers and network operators, Google continues to hone the technical specifications that will allow the phone to offer free subscriptions by bundling advertisements with its search engine, email, and Web browser software applications. It had approached AT&T and Verizon Wireless, in recent months to ask them to sell phones with Google service.

T-Mobile and Vodafone already incorporate Google search in their mobile Web service in Europe, while AT&T offers it as one of several Web search options.

Google declined to comment on the report of the prototype but confirmed that it is working with partners to expand its software applications from the traditional Internet to mobile devices.

“We’re partnering with carriers, manufacturers, and content providers around the world to bring Google search and Google applications to mobile users everywhere,” Google spokesman Michael Kirkland said.

Industry watchers have long heard rumors that Google was designing its own mobile phone. Google added fuel to that speculation in July when it announced it was willing to spend $4.6 billion to buy wireless spectrum in a U.S. Federal Communications Commission auction and it had invested in cellular technology company Ubiquisys, a femtocells vendor based in Swindon, U.K.

AT&T said today that it activated 146,000 iPhones after the first two days of sales, which fell on the final days of the second quarter. Apple shares fell the most in six months after analysts said demand may be slowing for the iPhone, which Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs expects to become the company’s third major business. This is way below analysts’ estimates, which had ranged from 500,000 to 1 million.
 
The iPhone - part iPod, cell phone and Internet device - was first announced in January. Jobs has projected sales of 10 million iPhones in its first year. With two models priced at $499 and $599 depending on storage capacity, that would generate more than $5 billion in additional retail sales. Apple’s shares had climbed from about $95 in January to a record high $143.75 on Friday.

Analysts cautioned against reading too much into AT&T’s activation numbers, saying the actual number of iPhones sold may be much higher but was not reflected in the figure because many users had activation problems and couldn’t sign up for a few days.

Weighing 135 grams (3.8 ounces), the iPhone has an Apple OS X operating system and 4 or 8 GB of storage. It is able to play videos as well as music and has a 3.5-inch screen.

Nokia today launched a service which would cut the time a GPS-enabled cell phone takes to pinpoint its whereabouts, opening new opportunities for location-based online services. The service will cut the startup time to one minute, from up to three minutes currently. The slowness has so far hampered takeup of cell phone navigation.

Nokia intends to equip all of its future devices that have built-in GPS with this service. The first devices to use this service are the Nokia 6110 Navigator, which has begun shipping in select markets, and the most recent software release of the Nokia N95 multimedia computer.

This service has the ability to reduce the time a connected mobile device with built in GPS needs to find its current position, known as time to first fix (TTFF) for most geographical locations worldwide. The reduced fix times can increase and improve the usability for all Nokia location-based experiences.

“By decreasing the time wasted while you wait for a first fix, we are increasing the enjoyment that Nokia Maps provides,” says Ralph Eric Kunz, vice-president, multimedia experiences, Nokia. “Consumers now have the comfort of quick fix times which create a better navigation experience when using Nokia Maps.”

The service operates in tandem with a technical framework that allows third parties, such as service providers, to provide their own regional A-GPS services, making fix times even faster in certain areas- to the benefit of their subscribers.

LG Electronics said Tuesday it has signed an agrement with YouTube, the world’s biggest video-sharing website, to develop a mobile phone which can operate the service. The proposed model will enable users to upload, view and share video clips or user-created content online freely without using computers.

For upcoming YouTube-enabled handsets, LG will apply a new user interface for easily accessing and uploading video content. LG’s YouTube-enabled handsets will be available worldwide starting at end of this year.

LG first announced its agreement to pre-install Google’s services on its handsets in March 2007. As a first step in this partnership, LG and Google have already launched the world’s first HSDPA smartphone with Google services pre-installed, the LG-KS10, which features Google Search, Gmail Mobile, and Google Maps Mobile. The LG-KS10 first hit shelves in Italy this past April

AT&T and Apple today announced three service plans for iPhone which start at just $59.99 per month. All three plans include unlimited data, Visual Voicemail, 200 SMS text messages, roll-over minutes, unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling, and a specific number of voice minutes. With everything else already included, iPhone customers can easily choose the plan that’s right for them based on the amount of voice minutes they plan to use each month. In addition, iPhone customers can choose from any of AT&T’s standard service plans.

All iPhone plans include Visual Voicemail, an industry first, which allows consumers to see a listing of their voice mails, decide which messages to listen to, then go directly to those messages without listening to previous messages. Just like email, Visual Voicemail on iPhone enables users to immediately and randomly access the messages that interest them most. Unlike most wireless plans that charge additional fees for new features, there are no additional fees for Visual Voicemail.

iPhone introduces a new user interface based on a multi-touch display and pioneering new software that allows users to control iPhone with just a tap, flick or pinch of their fingers. iPhone combines three products into one small and lightweight handheld device - a mobile phone, a widescreen iPod, and the Internet with applications for email, web browsing and maps. iPhone ushers in an era of software power and sophistication never before seen in a mobile device, which completely redefines what users can do on their mobile phones.

iPhone goes on sale at 6:00 pm (local time) on Friday, June 29 and will be sold in the U.S. through Apple’s retail and online stores and AT&T retail stores. iPhone will be available in a 4 GB model for $499 (US) and an 8 GB model for $599 (US), and will work with either a PC or Mac. All iPhone monthly service plans are available for individuals and families and are based on a two-year service agreement with AT&T. Individual plans are priced at 59.99 for 450 minutes, $79.99 for 900 minutes and $99.99 for 1,350 minutes. Other plans are available as well. All plans include unlimited data (email and web), Visual Voicemail, 200 SMS text messages, roll over minutes and unlimited mobile-to-mobile and a one-time activation fee of $36.

T-Mobile today announced the national launch of T-Mobile HotSpot @Home, a new wireless service designed to provide people with one phone for all their home and mobile calling needs.

T-Mobile HotSpot @Home combines Wi-Fi (wireless Internet) and its nationwide voice and data network. While at home, customers can enjoy mobile coverage and unlimited domestic calling over Wi-Fi; while mobile, customers also can get the same benefits at all the nearly 8,500 T-Mobile HotSpot locations across the country. In addition, unlike with VoIP calling, when T-Mobile HotSpot @Home customers leave home or exit a T-Mobile HotSpot, their calls will transfer onto T-Mobile’s GSM/GPRS/EDGE wireless network, giving people the freedom to continue their important conversations uninterrupted as they go about their day. Calls also transfer from T-Mobile’s network onto Wi-Fi.

Key components of the T-Mobile HotSpot @Home service include new mobile phones designed to connect the user to a home Wi-Fi connection or T-Mobile HotSpot. T-Mobile today is introducing two HotSpot phones - the Samsung T409 and the Nokia 6086 - providing consumers with a choice of style and features. Each phone currently retails for $49.99 with a two-year contract on a qualifying rate plan.

T-Mobile also has partnered with leading router manufacturers D-Link and Linksys for Wi-Fi routers, designed for simple setup and enhanced battery life for the handset, as well as ensuring voice calls are carried with the utmost call quality. These routers also have commonly available data features found on standard routers, and work with customers’ existing broadband connection. Consumers can choose which router to use with the service; each is currently offered at no charge with the HotSpot @Home service via mail-in rebate.

he Linux Phone Standards (LiPS) Forum announced today the publication of specifications, improving interoperability across the Linux-based mobile telephony ecosystem - from software stack suppliers to mobile device OEMs to regional and global wireless operators.

The specifications published include the following: LiPS Reference Model, Address Book and Voice Call Enabler, and User Interface Services (Widget sets, Key Navigation and Text Input Method APIs-based on GTK). Before the end of 2007, the LiPS Forum will finalize the remaining elements of LiPS Release 1.0 by adding specifications relating to Telephony, Messaging, Calendar, IM, Presence and additional User Interface Services API specifications.

The completed specifications are publicly available on the LiPS Forum web site at http://www.lipsforum.org .

The emerging LiPS standards offer a range of benefits to the Linux-based mobile industry, especially in terms of reducing fragmentation, by informing and aligning OEMs, ISVs, operators and other consortia and standards bodies.

Sprint announced today that ABC today will make available episodes of Grey’s Anatomy, Lost, Desperate Housewives and Ugly Betty on video-equipped phones, along with Disney Channel series such as Hannah Montana, ABC News’ Nightline and other programming.

The four most-recent episodes of each series can be viewed on demand at no extra charge by subscribers to a $20-a-month data package. Beginning this fall, selected entertainment and news on-demand content and linear programming will include advertising.

Alternatively, content from Disney Channel only, including the on-demand programs and linear channel, will be available in the Power Vision Access Pack, which costs an additional $15 per month. Both Packs also include unlimited use of several other non-video applications such as web browsing, Picture Mail and mobile email (casual usage charges would apply for access to these applications without a data plan).