8 February 2006 Technology News

last SG · 2006-02-09T09:55:45+00:00

Lost an IPod or Wallet? Look for It Online BOSTON - Maureen Silliman felt her empty pocket and gulped: Her new $300 iPod must have bounced out as she ran t...

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A showcase for all things wireless

Service providers and handset makers are rolling out their latest offerings at the 3GSM World Congress under way this week in Barcelona.

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Microsoft, BT, Virgin team on mobile TV

Microsoft will soon announce a partnership with British Telecom Group and Virgin Mobile to launch a mobile TV service in the United Kingdom, a source close to the software giant confirmed.

For the past several months, BT has been building a network to broadcast digital TV over mobile phone networks. BT said in January that it plans to offer the network, called BT Movio, to mobile carriers that want to offer TV service to their customers.

The first mobile operator to use the BT network to deliver TV service is Virgin Mobile. The two companies conducted a trial last year for four months with roughly 1,000 users in London. Virgin Mobile plans to launch the service sometime this summer. Consumers can expect to get at least five TV stations as part of the initial launch, along with a number of radio channels.

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Opsware enters distribution agreement with Cisco

Opsware, a supplier of software used to automate computer data centers, on Monday said it had reached a multimillion-dollar distribution agreement with Cisco Systems. According to the agreement, Cisco will distribute the company's network automation system under the Cisco brand, using its sales force and marketing partners.

The two companies will also work together to develop more advanced network management systems. Further terms of the deal were not disclosed. In November, Opsware said it expected fourth-quarter revenue of $17 million to $18 million, with a per-share loss of 1 cent to 2 cents.

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Microsoft acquires mobile-search company

Microsoft has purchased MotionBridge, a Paris-based company that specializes in mobile search.

The move, announced Monday, comes amid an increased focus on search generally and as Microsoft prepares to launch mobile-search capabilities as part of its overall Windows Live services effort.

"The emerging field of mobile search is strategically important and crucial to delivering on our vision for Windows Live of providing a seamless and rich information experience for individuals and businesses across devices," MSN corporate vice president Christopher Payne said in a statement. "With MotionBridge, we are excited to continue to offer mobile operators the tools to maximize the value of their content and data networks, and provide a powerful search engine for mobile users."

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Egyptian mobile provider treads where others won't

From an office on the 26th floor of his family's gold-domed twin towers overlooking the Nile, Naguib Sawiris, chief executive of Orascom Telecom, scans the world for opportunities to expand his telecommunications empire. He tends to find them in places others fear to tread.

Take, for instance, Orascom's $160 million investment in Iraqna, the first mobile phone provider in Iraq. Iraqna operates in the volatile central provinces of Baghdad, Anbar and Diyala. Its employees have been kidnapped and its outlets have been attacked, pushing the company's annual security costs to $30 million.

But two years after it introduced service, Iraqna has 1.5 million subscribers, or 41 percent of the current Iraqi market. In the first nine months of 2005, the company generated $249 million in revenue.

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Motorola to make Windows Media phones, keep iTunes

Mobile handset manufacturer Motorola has announced that it is integrating Microsoft's digital rights management (DRM) technology into a number of its handsets.

Announced on Monday, the first day of the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona, the deal will see Motorola add support for Windows DRM, Windows Media Audio, Windows Media Audio Professional, and Media Transfer Protocol (MTP) to a range of its handsets.

The companies claim that when the Motorola handsets are released later this year, customers will be able to connect to Windows-based PCs via USB 2.0 and automatically synchronize the music on their computer with their phone using MTP.

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Big ambitions for Nokia's new phones

The world's largest handset maker, Nokia, launched three new phone models Monday, saying it expects the new 6131 camera phone to become one of the best-selling models in the middle price range. Nokia said the 6131 would retail for about 275 euros ($326.90), excluding subsidies and taxes. "We believe this will be one of the most sold midrange phones in the world," Kai Oistamo, head of Nokia's mobile-phones unit, said at the 3GSM World Congress trade show in Barcelona, Spain.
3GSM rollouts

Nokia also unveiled the 6136 model, with a camera and technology allowing it to connect to wireless-network hot spots, which Oistamo said would also retail for about 275 euros. The basic model, 6070, would have a retail price of about 135 euros ($160.47), Oistamo said. He added that all three phones would start shipping in the second quarter of the year.

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E-tracking through your cell phone

You may already know this, but your cell phone happens to be a miniature tracking device that can be used to monitor your location from afar.

There are times when knowing your exact location is useful, of course. It would be handy for a phone to help you find a gas station in a pinch, or bleep when you're about to take the wrong highway exit.

But the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice have seized on the ability to locate a cellular customer and are using it to track Americans' whereabouts surreptitiously--even when there's no evidence of wrongdoing.

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Nvidia's new graphics chip rings up 'Quake'

Nvidia's latest graphics processor for high-end mobile phones, unveiled Monday, can take 10-megapixel pictures and decode high-resolution video, marking another step toward turning mobile phones into powerful handheld entertainment devices.

The company touted the GoForce 5500 chip at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona. Nvidia is best known for its powerful PC graphics processors. But over the last few years, it has taken steps to recreate sharp graphics on mobile phones and handhelds. The company sells standalone graphics chips for mobile phones and licenses its graphics technology for other chipmakers to incorporate into their products, said Derek Perez, a company spokesman.

Handheld-device designers looking to cut costs tend to pick all-in-one chips that can handle basic applications such as processing, graphics and voice calls. Chips like the GoForce 5500 are designed for expensive handsets that let consumers watch movies, play PC-style video games and even pick up digital television.

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RIM unfazed as rivals take aim at BlackBerry

BARCELONA, Spain--Research In Motion's BlackBerry will remain the standard for mobile e-mail in the face of challenges by Microsoft and Nokia, whose rival e-mail systems aren't as cheap or secure as they claim, RIM's CEO said here on Monday.

"(They're) insecure. And Microsoft and Nokia use about five times more of the network than we do. Network capacity is scarce and battery power is scarce. That's why operators can price BlackBerry aggressively," RIM Chief Executive Jim Balsillie said in an interview at the fringes of 3GSM, the world's largest wireless trade show.

Initial launches by mobile operators indicate that the offering from Microsoft is indeed priced in line with that of BlackBerry, at around $30 a month, despite Microsoft's initial claims that push, or mobile e-mail, would become virtually free of charge.

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Seagate plans 12GB mini-hard drive

Seagate Technology plans to release a 12GB mini-hard drive that takes up 23 percent less overall space than current mini-drives. The platter in the drive measures 1 inch, but Seagate managed to shrink the package and other components to reduce the size. Hitachi did a similar trick with some of its mini-drives. Seagate currently sells an 8GB mini-drive.

Seagate will aim the drive at 3G, or third-generation, phones, which will need more storage for downloading TV programs, video and music. The drives will come out in the third quarter.

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Game industry group emerges after lawsuit

Following a high-profile lawsuit against Electronic Arts, the video game industry's leading recruitment firms have formed a new trade group.

The goal of the new Professional Electronic Entertainment Recruiters (PEER) is to establish and maintain ethical work standards and optimum recruiting services for game industry developers, publishers and related industry companies.

With an aging work force of video game creators, the game industry is going through growing pains similar to what Hollywood once experienced. Today there are more programmers, artists and producers in their 30s, 40s and 50s, many with families, who are looking for better pay, fewer work hours and improved benefits. PEER will focus on representing these experienced programmers.

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Google's ad sales tested in court

Another lawsuit is poised to challenge Google's lucrative advertising-based business model by arguing it encourages unlawful use of trademarks as keywords.

The parent company of a payday loan provider called Check 'n Go has sued Google in federal court in Ohio, saying that the search engine permits other payday lenders to purchase ads that appear when the trademarked phrase "check n go" is typed in.

CNG Financial, a Cincinnati-based company that operates more than 1,300 Check 'n Go stores through its subsidiaries, has asked a federal court to halt the practice.

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As Valentine's approaches, Craigslist heats up

Their eyes met across a crowded subway car but she was too shy to respond when he smiled, and they parted without a word.

That would have been the end of the story, if it weren't for a little perseverance and the help of a popular Web site.

After seeing Danny on the L train subway in New York, Rachel posted a message on the "missed connections" section of Craiglist New York City. The Web page offers a way to track down that irresistible person you didn't dare approach the first time round.

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Swimsuit downloads for your iPod or phone

This year, fans of Sports Illustrated's annual swimsuit issue will have an abundance of choice when it comes to formats for viewing the bikini-clad supermodels.

In addition to the magazine, which appears on newsstands tomorrow, and on the Web site at Sportsillustrated.com, fans will also be able to purchase any of eight specially produced videos from iTunes.com, Apple Computer's online store, for $1.99 each, or download content to a cell phone or to a handheld device, through a partnership Sports Illustrated has made with American Greetings Interactive.

Mark Ford, the president and publisher of Sports Illustrated, estimates that newsstand sales of the issue will be around 1.5 million copies, which, when added to the 3.3 million subscribers, is a paid readership of 4.8 million. Ford said that 60 million people or so would read the issue, however, making it the most widely read single issue of any magazine in the world. The swimsuit issue sells for $5.99, compared with the magazine's regular price of $3.50.

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AOL tests Chinese-American site

America Online on Monday said it has launched a public test of a Chinese-language version of its U.S. Web site to court Chinese Americans, offering features that in some ways are more ambitious than its main U.S. site.

The new site targets an estimated 2.7 million Chinese Americans and offers full-length features and episodes of TV series from China, viewable directly off the site. AOL's main U.S. site plans to offer vintage TV shows but does not offer full-length movies.

Up to 20 hours of video will be available at any time on AOL's Chinese-American Web site.

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Blogs make new sport at Turin Games

The networks know the Olympics are good for business, with viewers glued to their screens for hours, developing a sudden passion for speed skating and slaloms and happily sitting through hours of interspersed adverts.

But at this year's games, the polished performances of seasoned commentators are in competition themselves--against the new media world of blogs.

A quick surf of the Net, and you find online diaries dedicated to individual athletes, random comments from people hanging out in Turin, and thousands of links to news stories and pictures.

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Tech companies brace for showdown over China

Technology companies accused of collaborating with China's Internet censorship regime are bracing for what could be a tough round of questioning from politicians this week.

Executives from Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and Cisco Systems plan to testify about reports of their cooperation with Chinese requests before a U.S. House of Representatives human rights subcommittee on Wednesday morning.

Citing scheduling conflicts, none of those companies showed up at a briefing earlier this month. Their absence drew criticism from members of the informal congressional caucus that requested--but didn't have the power to compel--their attendance.

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Google beta ditches gmail.com

Google has launched a beta for hosted e-mail accounts that feature the user's domain instead of gmail.com.

The hosted-Gmail beta, which is going head-to-head with a similar beta that Microsoft launched in November, is offering 2GB of storage, e-mail search tools and a control panel to manage user accounts, aliases and mailing lists, as part of its test version.

The beta is open to businesses, organizations and schools, according to Google's blog site. The search giant points to San Jose City College as one school that is testing hosted Gmail, offering its students e-mail accounts with the domain of jaguars.sjcc.edu.

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Like lending to a friend, with interest

The Internet has become a great place to track down friends--or friends of friends--for advice or for a date. Now you can ask them for money, too.

Prosper.com, a start-up based in San Francisco, began operations last week, offering a mixed brew of eBay, Friendster and the local bank.

Prosper's users lend money to and borrow money from other people on the site at what the company says are better interest rates than those available through traditional financial institutions and without some of the risk that comes from typical person-to-person loans.

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