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New Cell Phones Aim to Connect Standards
Cell phone maker Kyocera unveiled its first handset Tuesday that uses Qualcomms GSM1x technology, which is used to bridge two cell phone standards that are not interoperable. Qualcomm created GSM1x so cell phone carriers that use the worlds most popular standard, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), could also install Qualcomms cell phone technology in their networks. GSM and Qualcomms “1x” cell phone standards are usually incompatible. Short for CDMA20001xrtt, 1x is built on the CDMA standard. The handset, based on Kyoceras KZ850 model, will “immediately” become part of Chinese carrier China Unicoms ongoing GSM1x trial, Qualcomm said.
Read the full story on: CNET News.com
MiTAC Set to Launch First Intel-Based Mobile Phone
Personal computer heavyweights Microsoft and Intel will have their first jointly designed mobile phone hit the market this autumn, as shown to consumers by Taiwans MiTAC on Tuesday. It will be the first mobile phone to use a chipset by Intel, the worlds largest semiconductor maker. MiTAC, a computer maker expanding into handheld devices, showed the new model 8380 on its Mio Web Site. Mio is the brand name MiTAC uses. It will play music and video, send email, snap pictures and keep a diary, alongside the ability to make voice calls.
Read the full story on: Yahoo! News
New Protocol Helps Boost Wi-Fi Sales
The market for IEEE 802.11 wireless LAN equipment continued growing in the second quarter, driven in part by users embracing the recently standardized 802.11g technology. Worldwide unit shipments of 802.11 gear, also generally known as Wi-Fi, grew 6 percent from the first quarter, though falling prices limited revenue growth to 2 percent, according to Greg Collins, an analyst at DellOro Group, which compiled the quarterly figures. The market as a whole generated revenue of $419 million in the quarter, the market research company said.
Read the full story on: InfoWorld
Number Portability a Cash Cow
Some cell phone companies appear poised to profit off a new fee that covers the cost of enabling customers to switch wireless services without giving up their phone numbers. The fee, permitted by the federal government, is already being levied by four national carriers and is generally less than $1 per month. And in certain cases, the money being collected appears to exceed the actual cost of meeting a November deadline set by the Federal Communications Commission for “number portability”. Although costs surely vary among the different companies, government officials and industry analysts say there is little reason to expect those expenses to vary widely as the carriers upgrade systems and create verification processes similar to those that long-distance phone companies use when a customer switches from one service to another.
Read the full story on: MSNBC
Carriers Must Think Young, Study Says
The youth of America may be fickle, but if U.S. wireless carriers want to tap into this lucrative market, they must adopt some unconventional business models, according to IDC. The research firm estimates that overall consumer growth will dissipate from 7.6 percent in 2003 to 0.3 percent by 2007, but the next frontier in growth could be youth and young adults (ages 13 to 24). The youth market is virtually untapped, with only 28 percent of consumers ages 13 to 19 having their own wireless devices. Leading the pack, according to IDC, are Virgin Mobile and Boost Mobile. Virgin was one of the first companies to offer pay-as-you-go plans, without a contract to sign.
Read the full story on: WirelessWeek.com