Mobile Phone Service at Sea
Sometime soon you might find yourself able to use your cell phone while at sea, thanks to Carnival Cruise Lines equipping their 21 ships with mobile phone service. They currently have only done this on one of their 21 ships, the Triumph, but they have plans to roll it out on the rest of their ships at sea by the end of the year.
As part of a deal with Wireless Maritime Services, Carnival can use its high-bandwidth technology to give passengers mobile phone service at sea. International roaming fees apply. W.M.S. has deals with eight cruise lines, including Norwegian Cruise Line, and covers 32 ships. Royal Caribbean International also plans to equip all 20 ships with the service by the end of the year.
Moto Q versus RIM Blackberry 7130c
Popgadget placed a quick versus battle between Motorola’s new Q against RIM’s new Blackberry 7130c and who comes out on top? Motorola, by a hair.
For most users, perhaps the most significant drawback of the Moto Q is the absence of push email ability without using SMS or a third-party client. The Blackberry conveniently scores here as Cingular’s BlackBerry Internet Service provides push email to the handset. However, for me personally, the absence of integrated push email facility is not really vital, as I am not a keen instant email user. The other drawback with the Moto Q is that there is no possibility of using the device as an EV-DO modem for a PC, which could be rather disappointing.
Overall, however, my first impressions of the Motorola Q place it a notch higher than the Blackberry 7130c. This time around, Motorola seems to have goten it right, and this phone has potential as a Blackberry killer.
I think without a push e-mail service, no other device will beat out the Blackberry, as that is one of the most important uses of such a device. I honestly don’t understand, with the drawbacks listed, how the Motorola Q comes out on top.
Philips S880
It is amazing how many new phones come out every year. My fiance really loves the clamshell style cell phones, while I prefer the candy bar style ones. The Philips’ S880 fits into what my fiance would like as a music phone clamshell. With 128MB of internal memory, a 128×104 pixel VGA screen, USB 1.1 connection and things like SMS messaging and an assortment of little game to keep you draining your cell phone battery for hours, the S880 seems to be trying to fit in as an all around phone.
Nokia-Siemens Merger
Nokia and Siemens have announced their intention to merge their respective mobile network equipment businesses into a new joint venture which will form the entity Nokia Siemens Networks. The two companies intend to be the global leader in providing fixed and mobile network infrastructure.
The combined company is positioned to lead the development and implementation of revenue-generating and cost-saving products and services via its scale and global reach. Nokia Siemens Networks will have one of the world’s best research and development teams with the ability to invest in next generation fixed and mobile product platforms and services. The new company will have a world-class fixed-mobile convergence capability, a complementary global base of customers, a deep presence in both developed and emerging markets, and one of the industry’s largest and most experienced service organizations.
We recall that Siemens has recently sold its mobile handset division to Taiwanese BenQ (formerly Acer). With the Nokia-Siemens joint venture looming in the horizon, I think Siemens is up for sharing pole position in the fierce competition among network equipment suppliers, of which Ericsson, Alcatel, Lucent, and other providers are part of.
As usual, joint ventures and mergers are great at streamlining product and process flows, and allowing for economies of scale for both parties. I would tend to think, though, that Nokia and Siemens should allow for a couple of years into the merger to reap the full efficiency benefits. As for us consumers, I don’t think we’ll see any changes anytime soon, especially since this doesn’t involve the usual merger for mass-market produts, but that for high-end network equipment. That is unless Siemens and Nokia get to develop and introduce uber-cool technology that will surpass current 3G standards soon.
eBay Introduces New SMS Alert Service
For those in the U.S. you can now use a service to monitor auctions you are interested in and bid on them from your cell phone thanks to eBay Alerts, a new SMS messaging service.
Pricing for text message alerts is 25 cents and that will allow up to 10 messages per item. The fee will be charged via the user’s mobile service provider. eBay plans on the Alert service eventually sending auction item links directly to the mobile buyer, as well as adding Skype support in 2007.
No word yet on any expansion plans to other countries.
Apple Cell Phone ‘Inevitable’
Everyone knows that Apple Computer will eventually make their own cell phone, but American Technology Research has said we won’t see it any time soon.
“While we firmly believe that Apple has been working on cell phone technology, we believe its much hyped imminent entry is overdone,” wrote analyst Shaw Wu in a research note Tuesday.
Apple would need approval by the Federal Communications Commission before being able to enter the U.S. cell phone market, and that would be required atleast three months before the product launch, and there has not been any sign of that happening yet.
Most people are expecting the Apple cell phone will enter the market mid-2007 at the earliest, but more like 2008 or 2009 as a defensive or offensive move towards convergent devices, much like Motorola’s iTunes enabled phones allow people to listen to MP3’s on the go.
“We see the next large frontier in cell phones as they become more ’smart,’ gaining more PC functionality like internet access, playing music and video, and other applications,” said the analyst.
Would you buy a cell phone from Apple?
Hidden Charges Nickle and Dime You
Many people would be lost without their voicemail these days, but what if you found out that checking your missed calls was costing you extra money? That is exactly what happened to Joshua Chaitovsky who went over his minutes, and so he decided to not pick up calls immediately, and just use his voice mail to keep track of those trying to get a hold of him. His bill had charged him 40 cents a minute while checking his voicemail messages.
Verizon Wireless says that voicemail is a free service they provide, but retrieving messages during peak hours, between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. you will be using minutes.
Other companies have the same type of systems, so unfortunately probably the best way to check your cell phone’s voice mail, is actually to use your landline, if you have one.
Source: KTSM
Opera Mini Goal 06
With World Cup soccer going on, everyone is trying to help you keep up with what is going on with the variety of games, and teams, and now Opera Software has released Opera Mini Goal 06, a special edition of the popular Opera Mini mobile browser.
Opera Mini Goal 06 gives soccer fans worldwide instant access to live scores, breaking sports news, team updates, statistics and the latest rumors - all from their mobile phones. Keep on top of the games and download the free Opera Mini Goal 06 browser today from http://mini.opera.com/goal!
“Millions of us will be thinking about balls obsessively 24/7 over the next month,” says Rolf Assev, Chief Commercial Officer, Opera Software. “With Opera Mini Goal 06 we can follow the World Cup anywhere, anytime - and never miss a game!”
Teens Turn Teen Repellent Noise into Secret Ringtone
Using technology that was supposed to repel teenagers and children while not effecting adults has been turned around to allow teens to communicate without the knowledge of most adults. The Mosquito teen repellent, which emits a high-pitch frequency that most teenagers can hear but not most adults has been changed into a text-message ringtone allowing students to learn about a new message while in class, since most teachers cannot hear the alert.
Inventor Howard Stapleton, creator of the Mosquito teen repellent, says only a few people over age 30 can hear the Mosquito’s sound. He and his 16-year-old daughter Isabel talk to Melissa Block about the sound, which has been dubbed “Teen Buzz.”
Motorola Phones Give off Most Radiation
If you put stock in the cell phones give people cancer claims, then you might want to not buy a Motorola.
Motorola managed to score the top eight spots in a list compiled by Cnet of phones with high radiation levels, as tested by the FCC. Tje phones are all given SAR levels, which measures the quantity of radio frequencey energy absorbed by the body per kilogram of organic tissue.
Most of the phones are nearly a decade old, but a two month old C290 made the cut, and at the top of the list is the SLVR L6 which comes it a at SAR level of 1.58W/kg, nearing the maximum of 1.6W/kg.
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