Bluetooth watches to show who's calling

Bluetooth watches to show who's calling

"Watches have always done a good job of quickly showing the time and date. But Fossil Inc. is convinced there's another piece of information worth displaying on the wrist: caller ID.
In a partnership with Sony Ericsson, Fossil on Thursday announced a new line of timepieces that will show who's calling on your cell phone.
The main advantage is that the system lets users quickly and discreetly know who is calling, without having to dig their phone out of their pocket or purse, said Bill Geiser, Fossil's vice president of watch technology."

SMS conquers field of Ramadan greetings

SMS conquers field of Ramadan greetings

"KUWAIT: Many old Ramadan habits and traditions have changed with time. Every year when the holy month of Ramadan comes, people used to congratulate each other personally. For those who are far away, they used to send greeting cards by mail. Later, some people simplified the greetings through phone instead of visits. They saved time as they became busier. During the last few years the SMS and later the MMS (multi media messages supporting pictures) technologies became popular. People recently have got used to this method of sending messages instead of telephone calls."

WiMax to unwire Bangalore for seamless connectivity

WiMax to unwire Bangalore for seamless connectivity

"Bangalore, India's silicon hub Bangalore is all set to become the country's first tech city to be unwired with WiMax technology providing seamless integrated digital connectivity, a top official said here Thursday.

'Keeping pace with the latest technologies in convergence, we are moving from Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity) to WiMax (worldwide interoperability for microwave access) for providing last mile wireless broadband access in place of cable and DSL (digital signal link),' Karnataka principal secretary (IT) Anup K. Pujari told reporters."

India to launch 3G services in 2007: Maran

India to launch 3G services in 2007: Maran

"3G mobile telephone services in the second half of 2007, Communications and IT minister Dayanidhi Maran said.
India will no more remain isolated from the 3G wave, keeping in tune with Korea and Japan in the Asia-Pacific Region having already launched the 3G services, which is sweeping the rest of the world, Maran said while speaking at a seminar '3G India: Redefining Mobility.' "

GPS-Enabled Location-Based Services (LBS) Subscribers Will Total 315 Million in Five Years

GPS-Enabled Location-Based Services (LBS) Subscribers Will Total 315 Million in Five Years

"In 2011, the total population of GPS-enabled location-based services (LBS) subscribers will reach 315 million, up from 12 million in 2006, according to a new study from ABI Research. Put another way, that represents a rise from less than 0.5% of total wireless subscribers today to more than 9% worldwide at the end of the study's 5-year forecast period.

'Regions of greatest growth will be North America and Western Europe,' says senior analyst Ken Hyers. 'The Asia-Pacific region will have strong growth as well, but it will vary by market. Leaders South Korea and Japan will continue to be engines of LBS growth, but North America, which has seen strong business use for several years, is expected to see significant consumer uptake in 2007 and beyond.'"

This J2ME sample program shows howto make UDP connection from J2ME Program

This free J2ME sample program illustrates how to make an UDP connection back to a server from the J2ME phone and send data back to the server. The same program can be changed to transfer data between two phones if they have static IP such as in Nextel's phones.

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India overtakes China; adds 5.84 mn mobile subscribers

India overtakes China; adds 5.84 mn mobile subscribers

"The frontline telecom stocks have been in the limelight for quite some good reasons and have continued to witness buying scaling new heights on the bourses. When we look at the subscriber base it has risen at a scorching pace overtaking China. In the month of August the mobile subscriber base increased by 5.28% m-o-m to 116.5 million for August 2006 as compared to 110.7 million in July 2006.
The net addition of 5.84 million in August 2006 was the largest ever in Indian mobile industry. Joint MD of Bharti Airtel Cellular, Akhil Gupta says that cellular additions are sustainable in the 5-5.5 million range. "

Boy‘s family refuses to apologise over SMS porn

Boy‘s family refuses to apologise over SMS porn

"THE defiant family of a teenage boy accused of distributing a pornographic SMS clip to his school friends – and claiming the star was a female classmate – have refused to apologise to the girl.
Instead they have accused the girl of “digging her own grave” by admitting to the boy that she was the person in the video.
“It was a matter of mistaken identity,” the boy‘s guardian Miriam said last week. “If she admitted being the one in the video then why is the blame being put on my son?"

Pfizer to Use RFID to Combat Fake Viagra

Pfizer to Use RFID to Combat Fake Viagra

"Pfizer claims it is the first pharmaceutical company with a program of this type, focused on EPC authentication as a means of deterring counterfeiting. However, Wal-Mart now requires its top 300 suppliers to tag cases and pallets of select goods, and over 24 drug providers tag bulk containers of Schedule II drugs, prescription painkillers and drugs of abuse.
A pharmaceutical giant has announced it is using radio frequency identification (RFID) to fight pharmaceutical fakes."

Five Arrested For Selling VoIP

Five Arrested For Selling VoIP

"Namibian Police have arrested five men in relation to violations of the Postal and Telecommunication Act of 1992 after they were caught 'red handed' trying to sell VoIP services to a member of the public.
When you look at this report it makes you realise how lightly Skype got off in South Korea after it was discovered it had set up shop and was providing VoIP services without the proper licence."

Study: SMS has 92% penetration among mobile users

Study: SMS has 92% penetration among mobile users

"Some 92% of Argentine mobile telephony customers use short messaging service (SMS), newspaper Infobae reported citing a recent study by consultancy Prince & Cooke.
According to the study 'Mobile telephony users in Argentina', each subscriber sends an average of 12 SMS a day, while nearly 215 million SMS are sent per day nationwide."

Flirting and Dumping by SMS

Flirting and Dumping by SMS

"According to a new study by the UK based online dating service Parship, looking at the dating habits of singles across Britain, love-cheats, two-timers and all-round commitment-phobes are twice as likely to arrange a first date by SMS, than those looking for love. The study of 1,000 single people discovered that six out of ten (60%) of casual daters use text to arrange their first meeting, whereas voice calls were the choice of over two thirds (67%) of people looking for a serious relationship."

With Bluetooth, pairing of technologies is almost magical

With Bluetooth, pairing of technologies is almost magical

"I'm a 'Star Trek' fan, but this 'We are the Borg' stuff is getting ridiculous.
I can't go anywhere these days without seeing someone who looks like a man-machine combo, with a blinking Bluetooth cell-phone headset attached to his ear.

At the grocery store. The park. The mall. The bar. The bathroom. You name the place, I've seen cyborgs. It's an addiction -- one that looks like an affliction. "

California Poised to Enact RFID Law

California Poised to Enact RFID Law

"California could soon become one of the first states to create comprehensive safeguards for personal information collected through the use of radio frequency identification (RFID) tagging in government-issued documents and identification cards.

The state legislature last month passed legislation, called the Identity Information Protection Act of 2006, to protect residents from RFID abuses. The law is expected to be signed or vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger by the end of the month."

Where to download drivers for my computer?

If you know which driver you need you can goto any of these websites and download the appropriate driver.

If you would like to test the drivers in your computer and see if they are functioning properly or needs to be updated then you can use the Driver Detective utility.

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'Super 3G' now commercially visible

'Super 3G' now commercially visible

"Six months ago, Globe Telecom brought the first HSDPA or 'Super 3G' technology in Asia, bringing the next generation in mobile broadband into reality. However, the mobile Internet product dubbed Visibility, which came out last March, was mainly reserved for corporate subscribers.
Nonetheless, Globe announced today the commercial availability of the same Visibility product for everyone to enjoy- this time, with a much faster data transfer speed, and a more appealing monthly package fee. "

Privacy and RFID Information Systems

Privacy and RFID Information Systems

"Radio frequency identifier ('RFID') tags are the next evolution in technology from barcodes. Containing microchips and tiny radio antennas that can be attached to products, RFID tags can transmit a unique identifying number to an electronic reader, which in turn links to a computer database where information about the item is stored.
To manufacturers, suppliers and retailers, RFID tags can be valuable tools in managing inventory, but for consumers they can also pose a potential risk to privacy if linked to personal information. RFID tags are becoming more prevalent in our everyday lives from security access cards to ignition immobilizers to highway toll systems and other electronic pass systems."

Mumbai MTNL slashes ISD tariffs

Mumbai MTNL slashes ISD tariffs: "State-owned Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Ltd (MTNL) has reduced its international call tariffs on GSM services in Mumbai. The company operates two GSM services, Dolphin and Trump, in Mumbai and Delhi.
Under the revised tariff structure, charges to like the US, Canada, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia would be around Rs 6.67 per minute. This is 50 per cent less than the existing Rs 12, MTNL said in a release here today. "

Four Reasons Why VoIP is a Good Call

Four Reasons Why VoIP is a Good Call: "A strange thing has been happening to business telephony over the past decade: All the people you need or want to speak to have turned into voicemail. Sometimes when they get your message and call you back, you've turned into voice mail as well. This wastes a huge amount of time—and is, I believe, one of the main drivers of the 'presence' capability that started in instant messaging (IM) and will soon be spreading to a unified communications platform near you.
Here are a few data points and thoughts, then we'll get to the lessons: "

New GPS technology could potentially create an Orwellian world

New GPS technology could potentially create an Orwellian world

"Tim Hibbard wants you to see where he is. On his Web site, timhibbard.com/wherestim, Hibbard uses GPS technology to plot his location on a map of Lawrence, Kansas, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

A GPS phone in his car feeds information into a Google Map, and a small icon represents Tim Hibbard, Web site architect and self- confessed geek. If you zoom in on the location, you can see the roof of the building he's in. If you were familiar with Lawrence, you could suggest things for Hibbard to do. "

HSDPA network 'smartest' in the world - Vodafone

HSDPA network 'smartest' in the world - Vodafone

"Vodafone New Zealand says it has the 'smartest' HSDPA network anywhere in the world.
It has also thrown down the gauntlet to Telecom, saying no matter how fast its CDMA network gets, Vodafone's WCDMA network will always have faster download speeds.

Last week it unveiled the software upgrade to its 3G network, which trumps the versions of HSDPA being used by other Vodafone subsidiaries around the world."

Suspect arrested for kidnap of SMS girl

Suspect arrested for kidnap of SMS girl

"Authorities in South Carolina have arrested a man suspected of kidnapping a 14-year-old girl who sent a cellphone text message to her mother that led to her rescue from a booby-trapped bunker.
Investigators arrested 37-year-old Vinson Filyaw in Richland County about 24 hours after rescuing Elizabeth Shoaf, said Sheriff Steve McCaskill in neighboring Kershaw County. "

3G mobile war heats up

3G mobile war heats up

"Reliance seeks 3G spectrum for 13 of 23 circles for tests. Bharti, Airtel, Hutch had also sought circles but were allowed in-house tests only.
New Delhi: The real 3G mobile services are still to take off, though competition is heating up at the trial stage. After Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd, Bharti Airtel and and Hutchison Essar were allowed to conduct indoor trials of third-generation mobile services, leading CDMA mobile services provider Reliance Communications Ltd has sought 3G spectrum from the government to test services and equipment."

Free linux applications

If you are a linux user, here is a list of free applications that you can use.

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China Mobile 3G just for select cities

China Mobile 3G just for select cities

"China Mobile (Hong Kong) (0941), the world's largest cellular operator, said it plans to launch new third- generation services only in selected mainland cities, allaying concerns the company's future finances would be weighed down by the commitments of a full nationwide rollout.
China Mobile's 3G strategy is to target 'larger cities and commercial districts,' chairman Wang Jianzhou was quoted by mainland media as saying Tuesday. "

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Sex through Bluetooth - A hi tech flirt method

Sex through Bluetooth - A hi tech flirt method

"RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - The restaurant, like all Riyadh eateries, has taken precautions to prevent its male and female diners from seeing or contacting each other.
Circular white walls surround each table in the family section, open only to women alone or women accompanied by close male relatives. Other male diners are on lower floors.
Yet despite the barriers, the men and women flirt and exchange phone numbers, photos and kisses."

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Use WiFi? Know risks

Use WiFi? Know risks

"SAN JOSE, Calif. � Gordon Hamachi, a software developer who lives in Mountain View, Calif., is concerned about security when he uses a free wireless network because he knows there is a chance intruders could access unprotected data on a public network. But he is more worried about people like his neighbors, who are not computer savvy.

"There are wireless risks and there are Internet risks," Hamachi said. I'll have to train them about being safe on the Internet. It's the equivalent of don't talk to strangers if you are a kid."

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Government agencies expanding use of RFID

Government agencies expanding use of RFID

"The U.S. Department of Defense, as well as federal and state civilian agencies are increasingly deploying or planning to implement Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technologies throughout their organizations. In a recent Government Computer News survey of government IT professionals, a significant number of respondents were already using, expanding or about to adopt RFID to enhance personnel ID and access control, asset management and inventory control, and supply chain logistics, among other uses."

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Strategy Analytics Predicts One Billion 3G Cellphone Users by 2010

Strategy Analytics Predicts One Billion 3G Cellphone Users by 2010

"W-CDMA and CDMA2000 1xEV-DO 3G technologies are on target to reach 167 million users by the end of this year, climbing to pass the one billion mark in 2010 according to new research from the Wireless Network Strategies service at Strategy Analytics. "

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Ready For WiMAX?

Ready For WiMAX?

"It seems like it takes forever for any new wireless technology to work its way from initial idea through standards adoption to useful products. After the long development cycles of 3G cell phones, Bluetooth, Zig-Bee, Ultra-Wideband (UWB), and Wi-Fi (including 802.11n), you have to wonder if something is wrong with the system.

When you dig below the veneer of hype, though, you can see that WiMAX is moving forward just fine. It isn't a perfect technology, but it fills the metropolitan-area network (MAN) niche. And if the technology continues at a steady pace toward adoption, it should find its place alongside the many complementary wireless and non-wireless systems already in place."

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Hotspot networks setting WiFi free

Hotspot networks setting WiFi free:

"A HUGE area south of San Francisco is to get a WiFi network that will provide free internet access to about 2.5 million people.

The area, known as Silicon Valley, is home to thousands of information technology and communications companies and their employees.
The network is being built by a consortium that includes two of the world's biggest IT companies, IBM and Cisco Systems."

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WiMAX - The Best Personal Broadband Experience

WiMAX - The Best Personal Broadband Experience

Global roaming shall become a critical feature of mobile services offered and will lure subscribers and help generate added revenues. If service providers provide access by their partners with the help of roaming agreements like the existing ones for mobile networks, they can get desired footprint in market without building a broad infrastructure.



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Nortel bets on 4G services by 2010

Nortel bets on 4G services by 2010

Nortel has exited the 3G equipment business to concentrate on next-generation 4G technology.

Fourth-generation (4G) mobile data services delivered over cellular networks could offer up to 40Mbit/s of bandwidth to end-users, but they may not appear in the UK or Europe until 2010, telecoms vendor Nortel said last week.

Nortel last week sold its 3G access business to rival Alcatel and said that it sees more value in developing 4G equipment based on orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) technology for use in core operator networks.



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Yahoo Messenger now provides free VoIP Conference calling

Yahoo Messenger now provides free VoIP Conference calling

BOSTON--Yahoo! is adding free conference calling to its Yahoo! Messenger with Voice VoIP service, using a free plug-in from Vapps called ConFreeCall.

The new service is intended to allow the 80 million subscribers Yahoo! has signed to its VoIP service to use conference calling to connect with family, friends and colleagues, instead of viewing conference calling as strictly a business application, the two companies said.



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SMS love affair led to death

SMS love affair led to death

The family of a young woman had no idea that their daughter had converted from Christianity to Islam, nor that she had married a Muslim from out of town.

Mathilda Sinden, of Witpoortjie in Roodepoort, had met Erefaan Vallie Khan, of District Six in Cape Town, through a cellphone SMS dating service.

The two instantly hit it off and Mathilda, 25, travelled from the West Rand to Cape Town to marry the accused under Muslim customary law.


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RFID plane tickets to track travellers

RFID plane tickets to track travellers:

"Scientists at University College London (UCL) are developing a system that combines radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and high-definition CCTV cameras to track passenger movements in busy airports.

The EU-funded project, known as Optag, is intended to help airlines keep track of passengers and help them reach departure gates on time, reducing the risk of missing valuable take-off slots."

Anil applies for pan-India GSM spectrum

Anil applies for pan-India GSM spectrum

Two months after Reliance Communications announced plans to launch GSM-based telecom services, the biggest CDMA service provider applied today to the Department of Telecom (DoT) for spectrum in the 1800 MHz band throughout the country.

With this official bid for GSM spectrum in 21 of the country’s 23 telecom circles, Reliance’s network will be able to cover most of the land area, making its GSM foray potentially the biggest round of network expansion for the company since it first launched CDMA-based telecom services in 2001.

How to convert Word document to PDF? Download free PDF Writer

The PDF writer that Adobe provides is not free. However many companies have developed PDF writer software and provides it free. There are many types of PDF writers. Some of them inserts the company's advertisements in the created PDF documents. Some give evaluation copies that are free for use for a limited period of time only. But this one is free

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Software tips -> What is Firefox? Should you change to Firefox?

Majority of the Internet users use Microsoft's Internet Explorer to browse the web. Internet Explorer (IE) is the entry point to most of the security problems in Windows. There are many security holes in IE, therefore Microsoft releases security patches evey now and then to fix these security holes.

Consider you are entering any website using IE. Even without clicking on any link or image on that webpage it is possible that your computer is infected by a spyware. Hackers can use these security holes to install vspyware in the computer without you doing anything on the webpage.


What is Firefox? Should you change to Firefox?

Software tips -> What is Firefox? Should you change to Firefox?

Majority of the Internet users use Microsoft's Internet Explorer to browse the web. Internet Explorer (IE) is the entry point to most of the security problems in Windows. There are many security holes in IE, therefore Microsoft releases security patches evey now and then to fix these security holes.

Consider you are entering any website using IE. Even without clicking on any link or image on that webpage it is possible that your computer is infected by a spyware. Hackers can use these security holes to install vspyware in the computer without you doing anything on the webpage.


What is Firefox? Should you change to Firefox?

Austria, Germany, Switzerland To Launch Bird Flu Project

Austria, Germany, Switzerland To Launch Bird Flu Project

VIENNA (AP)-- Austria , Germany and Switzerland are working on a cross-border project to test live birds for the H5N1 bird flu strain on Lake Constance , an official said Wednesday.

Toronto WiFi Goes live

Toronto WiFi Goes live: "Toronto Hydro Telecom announced today the launch of it's city-wide WiFi initiative, One Zone. The first phase of a plan to provide all of Toronto with affordable wireless internet is now active. Phase 1 covers an area from Front to Queen, and from Church to Spadina. By the end of this year that coverage will be significantly expanded, reaching all the way north to Bloor, and from Bathurst to Parliament south of Queen -- six square kilometers, the largest WiFi network in Canada."

How to create a Digital Photo Album?

With digital cameras becoming so common, organizing and keeping these digital photos safe becomes an issue. This tutorial shows how to create a digital album.

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Besu student sends lewd SMS to V-C

KOLKATA: Friends say he is eccentric. But, this time even they are surprised at his mindless ways. Somnath Dey is a second-year student of Bengal Engineering and Science University (Besu). On Saturday, he landed behind bars for sending obscene SMSes.

Amazingly, his lewd messages were sent not to any girl, but to the university vice-chancellor and registrar. He even abused the two over phone. This happened on Friday. Vicechancellor N R Banerjea was in Delhi when he started getting some very abusive calls.

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Besu student sends lewd SMS to V-C

KOLKATA: Friends say he is eccentric. But, this time even they are surprised at his mindless ways. Somnath Dey is a second-year student of Bengal Engineering and Science University (Besu). On Saturday, he landed behind bars for sending obscene SMSes.

Amazingly, his lewd messages were sent not to any girl, but to the university vice-chancellor and registrar. He even abused the two over phone. This happened on Friday. Vicechancellor N R Banerjea was in Delhi when he started getting some very abusive calls.

Read Full Story

Besu student sends lewd SMS to V-C

KOLKATA: Friends say he is eccentric. But, this time even they are surprised at his mindless ways. Somnath Dey is a second-year student of Bengal Engineering and Science University (Besu). On Saturday, he landed behind bars for sending obscene SMSes.

Amazingly, his lewd messages were sent not to any girl, but to the university vice-chancellor and registrar. He even abused the two over phone. This happened on Friday. Vicechancellor N R Banerjea was in Delhi when he started getting some very abusive calls.

Read Full Story

Besu student sends lewd SMS to V-C

KOLKATA: Friends say he is eccentric. But, this time even they are surprised at his mindless ways. Somnath Dey is a second-year student of Bengal Engineering and Science University (Besu). On Saturday, he landed behind bars for sending obscene SMSes.

Amazingly, his lewd messages were sent not to any girl, but to the university vice-chancellor and registrar. He even abused the two over phone. This happened on Friday. Vicechancellor N R Banerjea was in Delhi when he started getting some very abusive calls.

Read Full Story

Besu student sends lewd SMS to V-C

KOLKATA: Friends say he is eccentric. But, this time even they are surprised at his mindless ways. Somnath Dey is a second-year student of Bengal Engineering and Science University (Besu). On Saturday, he landed behind bars for sending obscene SMSes.

Amazingly, his lewd messages were sent not to any girl, but to the university vice-chancellor and registrar. He even abused the two over phone. This happened on Friday. Vicechancellor N R Banerjea was in Delhi when he started getting some very abusive calls.

Read Full Story

Mobile Phone Security Bugs

ALONGSIDE annoying ringtones, quirky screen savers and photos of the family pet, security software is becoming a must-have mobile phone accessory. No self-respecting PC owner would be without an antivirus package, and users of mobile phones and portable computing devices are beginning to follow suit.

The chances of attacks on phones are still relatively low, but they won't stay that way for long, industry experts warn.

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Worldwide Migration To 3G Is Accelerating

CDMA Development Group (CDG) announced that, based on an in-depth analysis of industry data, the worldwide migration to 3G is accelerating, as evidenced by the proliferation of CDMA2000. The facts supporting this conclusion are available in a recently published white paper entitled, "The Smart Money is on 3G," which provides a detailed analysis on the pivotal role CDMA2000 has played in creating competition by driving down the cost of delivering voice, multimedia messaging and broadband data services across the globe. The white paper is available for download on the CDG's Web site.

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Mobile phones openning up to spammers and phishers and con men and ...

NO SOONER have vendors turned their attention to providing mobile phone users with access to low cost VoIP networks, than analyst firm, Ferris Research, is warning that it will open up handsets to all the dangers of the Internet.

As VoIP means that an Internet MAC address effectively becomes a telephone number, it will be possible to make thousands of simultaneous Internet 'calls', according to Ferris. Those calls could end up as 'spam' voice messages which clog up your phone's voice mailbox.

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Mobile phone users warned of dangers in 'spy' software

Would you spy on your spouse? A company is urging consumers to buy 'secret' mobile phone software so they can read their partner's text messages. Yet it denies encouraging infringement of privacy laws.

FlexiSpy is billed as the 'world's most powerful spy software for mobile phones', which enables a buyer to 'secretly record every SMS [text] message, view their call history, and more!' Its website even has a 'testimony' from a customer. 'Thanks to FlexiSpy, I finally figured out my wife was cheating on me with my brother,' he claims. 'My life is so much better.'

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Slow move to Voip phones

It's understood that New Zealand had about 7000 paying customers of consumer internet phone services at the end of 2005, showing the technology has a long way to go before it hits the mainstream.

Chris Loh, an IDC analyst, predicts about 630,000 paying subscribers by 2010. This number does not include people using software such as Skype or instant messengers for free Voice over Internet Protocol (Voip) calls, or business users.

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WiFi hotspots for anyone

Shopkeepers and people who live in busy areas can now set up their own public WiFi hotspots, thanks to technology released by an Auckland start-up last week.

Tomizone, whose investors include Warehouse founder Stephen Tindall, is creating a network of hotspots set up by people who install its free software on their routers.

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Minacom Tests VoIP Via BlackBerry

For starters they’re small. They’re also pervasive, addictive, and frankly ever more applicable to most any use: e-mail, voice, and now apparently VoIP Testing! I’m talking of course about the BlackBerry.

Minacom, a leader in VoIP test systems for telcos and cable MSOs, today introduced residential VoIP service quality testing using BlackBerry wireless devices, which now support Minacom’s PocketDQ Web-based VoIP testing client.

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Demand for WiFi Equipment, Components Growing

The manufacturing of WiFi equipment is also of concern to policymakers -- especially in California. Legislation introduced there compels manufacturers to choose one of several ways to protect consumers, and prevent criminals from illicitly linking to another person's WiFi connection.

Promising applications are powering the market for WiFi chips and related equipment, raising the expectation among analysts and other observers that the market will grow to US$3 billion during the next three years, according to new research.

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Samsung Launches Ultra 3G Handsets

New treo launched by Samsung include the Z720, the Z370 and the Z620 slim HSDPA handset.

Paris: Samsung has launched its brand new Ultra Edition 3G range at the Louvre Museum in Paris. These ground-breaking mobile phones offer to maximise access to all of the benefits that 3G networks can offer, but with a look that is better than ever before.

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Ambulances of Quarteira have new GPRS system

AHAQ - The Humanitarian Association of Ambulances of Quarteira - have developed the GPS system installed in their 17 ambulances in 2005, in articulation with the inosat, a system for the localisation of vehicles, being a new GPRS localisation system, which allows the control of all movements of the vehicles.

According to AHAQ, in a communication, this system allows "the localisation to the second of the ambulances which may be in any part of the country, allowing us to control and identify the speed of the vehicles, alter routes, register the times of journes and stops, the actual speeds and the average speeds, to issue reports about the activity of any vehicle and also to control and identify the position of the vehicle in case of theft".

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Voters targeted by SMS

GOLD Coast nightclubbers will receive SMS messages urging them to vote against the Beattie government in next week's state election.

Thousands will be targeted by the Gold Coast's Licensed Venues Association, who are campaigning to generate anger against the Government's decision to impose a state-wide 3am nightclub lockout.

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Firm offers free VoIP calls on a mobile phone

A SMALL British firm which specialises in the cellular sector, Rok, has decided to position itself as the 'Skype' of the mobile phone world. It will be offering VoIP/Internet based calls for free between handsets using its specialised software.

This news has leaked a few days before the official launch of the service this coming Tuesday (September 8th 2006) – meaning that only one vital piece of information is currently missing. Namely, the URL for the site from which it will be possible to download the necessary software for free.

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JV introduces RFID tracking of transit containers

Arlington Packaging and Roke Manor Research announce a joint venture that will bring users of returnable transit containers a unique way of tracking their assets.

Utilising RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology, the new system is both cost effective and robust, meaning it can be used in any application to track and manage transit containers. Arlington Packaging has a twenty year history of packaging design and distribution and is recognised as a market leader within the materials handling field.

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GSM Association Gains 100 Million New Subscribers In The Americas

3G Americas, the association representing the European-developed GSM mobile phone standard, announced that nearly 100 million new subscribers signed up for GSM technology in the Americas in the past year.

Noting that market research firm Informa Telecoms & Media has reported that 2 billion of the world's 2.41 billion cellular subscribers were in the GSM fold, 3G Americas pointed to heavy GSM growth in Latin America and the Caribbean as major drivers of the growth.

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Fixed WiMAX sales to peak in 2007; Mobile WiMAX to kick-off deployment

United States – Fixed WiMAX sales will hit its peak and then level off in 2007, while mobile WiMAX will start to see deployments during the same period, projected ABI Research. The crossover point between the two will be late in 2008.

The market research firm added that considering that it takes a year to design ASICs and then more time to design them into end-equipment, vendors need to be discussing the required tradeoffs in their strategy meetings now.

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Mobile companies develop new, faster 4G technology using WiMAX

CHEJU, South Korea (Reuters) - Global mobile operators and device makers are betting that the next level of transmission technology will ramp up mobile phone usage in a way that third-generation technology has so far failed to do.

So-called fourth-generation (4G) mobile technology, now being developed, would allow two-way communication in voice, video and data on a scale that was previously impossible, companies said at a Samsung 4G Forum mobile conference.

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Small firms weak on VoIP and business recovery

Small and medium-sized companies in the UK are failing to make best use of their IT and telecoms resources for remote and mobile working, voice over IP and business continuity, according to a new report.

Britain's small companies have not made business continuity a foundation of the business, opting instead for rudimentary business recovery plans as an afterthought, the report concludes.

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Chariot writes off $7.3m after failed VoIP venture

Chariot has reported an asset write down of $7.3 million resulting from its failed VoIP joint venture with Transcom International and has vowed to hit back at Transcom's $3.2 million legal claim over the business with one of its own for an even higher figure.

Chariot announced in July that it and two its directors were facing a $3.2 legal claim from Transcom over the failed collaboration, entered into in late 2004. Since then Transcom has accused Chariot of failing to disclose to the ASX the fact that its $4 million investment in the joint venture had been written down to zero.

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How Do You Keep Your Stuff Private On WiFi Networks?

I was talking with a geek who'll remain unnamed and he was telling me how easy it is for someone to sit at a Starbucks, slurp off the local WiFi, and recreate almost everything you do, often gaining passwords and private conversations.

I saw this once at a conference where someone up on stage was showing the audience everything that was going over the WiFi networks. For instance, did you know that if you're using many common Instant Messengers that those send your information over WiFi in plain text? I could be sitting next to you watching EVERYTHING you are typing across the Internet.

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California OKs RFID bill

California has passed new privacy safeguards for 'tag and track' RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) spy chips.

The State Assembly passed senator Joe Simitian's Identity Information Protection Act (Senate Bill 768) bill which, "helps ensure that Californians can control the personal information contained on their drivers' licenses, library cards and other important ID documents," say the sposors, the ACLU, EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) and Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, also supported by other groups, "ranging from the AARP to the California Alliance Against Domestic Violence to the Gun Owners of California," says the EFF.

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Wi-fi lovers get social networking site

A social networking site aimed at the wireless industry is a sign of sustained growth, not a new technology bubble, according to its founders.

The Wireless Industry Partnership (WIP), launched this week, uses a website to connect potential business partners in wireless fields including 3G, RFID, wi-fi and WiMax.

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Samsung's 4G outpaces WiMAX

On a bus fitted out specially for the occasion in Jeju this week, Samsung demonstrated a new version of 4G technology transferring data at speeds of 100Mbit/s.

The bus was moving at 60kmph - which you rarely see in real life - but it was proof enough, the Korean giant boasted, as the demonstration included handover between cells. 1Gbit/s is 50 times faster than the current Mobile WiMAX specification, 802.16e. At walking pace, the demonstration moved bits at 1GB/s.

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Cable Poised for Growth in VoIP Services

A new study by Kagan Research claims that VOIP revenues for the cable industry are primed for a major jump in the second half of 2006 and should have an ancillary affect on both subscriber retention and overall revenues.

The company’s Broadband Cable Financial Databook claims that VoIP subscriptions will jump to 6.5 million by the end of the year, a 60 percent jump over year-end 2005.

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Demand for 3G handsets rising

THE demand for 3G handsets is growing following Qtel’s launch of the third generation mobile service in Qatar. Inquiries with mobile phone dealers reveal that a large number of customers are showing interest in the 3G service, which currently provides video calling facility across the state.

According to some mobile phone dealers at Souq al-Najda hundreds of people have already bought 3G handsets.

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Bluetooth sinks in

He walks through the mall barking orders into thin air.

She jogs down the street discussing dinner plans, but no one is jogging with her.

Speaking at a louder-than-normal volume, he goes about his daily business -- wherever he may be at the time.

At first glance, it looks as though the average person has lost his mind. But he's not talking to himself. And if you look close enough, you'll notice something peculiar attached to his ear -- something too big to be an earring, too colorful to be a hearing aid.

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BSNL to launch location based services by year-end

NEW DELHI: State-Owned PSU, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) will be launching its Location Based Services (LBS) to its customers in two regions by the end of the year.

With the launch of the LBS, BSNL will be the first mobile operator to offer this service in the country. Currently, no mobile operator is offering this service in India. Telenity, a US based provider of next-generation services for communications networks has deployed the solution in 19 circles of BSNL across the country.

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