The next generation of Nokia’s Internet Tablet will feature the long-range wireless broadband technology known as WiMAX, the latest push by the Finnish cell phone maker to develop an all-in-one handset.
The company, which controls about one-third of the worldwide mobile phone market, said it had already signed a deal with U.S. carrier Sprint to make the new tablets available to subscribers in the first half of 2008.
“We are preparing for the day when people are carrying computers in their pockets and not phones,” said Nokia vice president Ari Virtanen.
Nokia did not rule out the possibility of also incorporating a cellular radio to the series at some stage in the future but said it would not be with the next product release. That would be a commercial decision not a technical one, said Mr. Virtanen.
Nokia’s tablets are pocket computers that feature short-range WiFi technology and high resolution screens that allow users to surf the web, make Internet Protocol phone calls, and send and receive email and text messages.
Helping to bridge the divide have been Nokia’s most recent mobile phones, such as the N95 and E90, which also sport WiFi and Bluetooth technologies. This means that users can browse the Internet or make phone calls by-passing their cellular carriers’ networks.
Internet tablet sales are steadily increasing although they are still not at mobile phone sales levels, said Mr. Virtanen.
Convergence between mobile phones and computers will continue and Nokia will lead the trend by approaching it both from the mobile phone and computer ends, he said.
“Today’s phones with computer capabilities are still phones at the heart,” he said. “We are making devices with computers at the heart and phone functionality on top.”
Nokia last week announced a corporate strategy shift that moves the company away from being a mobile phone maker and closer to that of an internet services company. This has in fact been a long-held ambition of the company but one which it now acknowledges publicly.
Computer maker Apple’s entry into the phone market may have hastened Nokia’s decision to go public, as may have reports of similar plans by other computer related companies such as Google and Microsoft.
Source: Redherring
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Nokia To Launch WiMAX Handsets
Apple faces possible lawsuit with HTC
Cellphone company HTC, had created their own music player called the HTC Touch. A trademark lawyer said that the name alone is not enough to convict Apple of stealing the name, but there are similiarities between to two devices such as music and video playback, the touchscreen, and Wi-Fi capabilities. These may be enough of a reason to create a trademark argument. Additionally, the iPod Touch was unveiled three months after Taiwan’s HTC Touch was launched.
HTC head chief Peter Chou said he feels that the name is a “compliment” to the HTC Touch, however, he declined to comment on whether he would pursue action to force a name change or file a lawsuit. Furthermore, if anything happens between these two companies, it would mark the second time this year Apple has faced naming issues, the first being with CISCO.
Source: Gadgetell
Apple's Jobs Sorry for iPhone Price Cut
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Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs apologized and offered $100 credits Thursday to customers who shelled out $599 for the most advanced model of the iPhone this summer, only to have the company unexpectedly slash the price $200 in a push to boost holiday sales.
In a letter on the company's Web site, Jobs acknowledged that Apple disappointed some of its customers by cutting the price of the iPhone's 8-gigabyte model and said he has received hundreds of e-mails complaining about the price cut.
Jobs added that "the technology road is bumpy," and there will always be people who pay top dollar for the latest electronics but get angry later when the price drops.
"This is life in the technology lane," Jobs said.
And for many of the iPhone's early adopters, money is not and never was an issue. They were after the gratification of knowing they were among the first owners of something that was cool, even revolutionary.
"If they told me at the outset the iPhone would be $200 cheaper the next day, I would have thought about it for a second — and still bought it," said Andrew Brin, a 47-year-old addiction therapist in Los Angeles. "It was $600 and that was the price I was willing to pay for it."
Jobs said Apple will hand out $100 credits for Apple's retail and online stores to any iPhone owners who aren't eligible for a rebate under the company's refund policy. The policy covers those who bought their phones within 14 days of the price cut.
An Apple spokeswoman said the company did not have an estimate of how much the credits would cost Apple.
Enjoying that period of being among the first — before the price drops and the product reaches the masses — is part of the pleasure, Brin and others say. And in much of the tech world, the usual expectation is that six months will pass before there's a major price cut and a year before a next generation of the product — usually an improved version — appears.
The looks of envy and attraction are an elixir.
"It's better than a dog, if you want to meet people," Brin said of his iPhone.
Jack Shamama of San Francisco, who was among the thousands nationwide who lined up for iPhones on the day they first went on sale, said he got some smug text messages and phone calls from friends on Wednesday after Apple announced the price cut.
But Shamama is taking the price cut in stride, saying such cuts are the wages of being an early adopter.
Gadgets — and food — are the 33-year-old online marketing consultant's splurges.
"It's the equivalent of having that season's handbag," said Shamama, who goes through cell phones as quickly as some people do shoes, comfortably shelling out hundreds of dollars per handset every six to eight months.
He's got a collector's item in one of the first Palm Pilots. And, even though he didn't even want one at first, he felt compelled to buy a Nintendo Wii game system last November — paying a friend of a friend $400 to get the $250 machine — after he heard how scarce they were.
Shamama bought the BlackBerry Pearl — another trendy smart phone — only months before the iPhone was unveiled.
"My biggest fear with any product is that it's going to become obsolete, and that isn't what happened this time," Shamama said.
Jobs was talking the same way immediately after the iPhone price cut was announced Wednesday. In an interview with USA Today, Jobs tartly rebuffed criticism about whether Apple's most die-hard fans would be miffed.
IPhone owners who bought their device that morning "should go back to where they bought it and talk to them," he said. "If they bought it a month ago, well, that's what happens in technology."
Jobs apparently had a change of heart. The company is making the right decision by lowering the iPhone price, he said in his letter Thursday, but needs to "do the right thing for our valued iPhone customers."
"(W)e need to do a better job taking care of our early iPhone customers as we aggressively go after new ones with a lower price," he said. "Our early customers trusted us, and we must live up to that trust with our actions in moments like these."
Analysts said Thursday that Jobs erred by initially dismissing the gripes of people who bought iPhones early, many of whom are Apple loyalists who felt insulted they were being overlooked in the company's zeal to sell to a broader audience.
"In the course of a day, he probably got an earful and a better sense of the extent of the discontent on the part of these very, very loyal customers," said Charles Golvin, an analyst with Forrester Research. "On second and third thought, he realized these were probably the customers you most want to make sure are satisfied and retain a very positive impression about Apple overall, not just the iPhone."
Under Apple's refund policy, customers who bought an iPhone within 14 days of the price cut can get a refund of the price difference if they have the original receipt. Those who haven't opened the phones can return them for a full refund.
The price cut — and the phaseout of the 4-gigabyte iPhone, which retailed for $499 — came less than 10 weeks after the two products hit the market June 29 and angered some iPhone users.
Investors were also rattled by the news, sending Apple's shares down a total of more than 6 percent over the past two days, a drop that has wiped out about $8 billion in shareholder wealth. Apple's stock closed Thursday at $135.01.
Some worry that Apple is cutting the price to make up for waning demand, a concern Apple countered by saying the device is now affordable to more people and has the potential to be a blowout seller this holiday season.
Apple has said it's on track to sell 1 million iPhones by the end of the current quarter.
Source: AP
New Sony Ericsson Cybershot?
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Exploding batteries are fake, says Nokia
Nokia, the world’s largest maker of mobile handsets, on Monday blamed fake batteries and tampered cell phones for explosion in its mobiles, while advising customers to use original components.
“Our investigation shows that either the batteries were fake or tampered with,” D Shivakumar, managing director, Nokia India, said, while addressing a press conference in the National Capital.
The Finnish company also mustered support from the Cellular Operators Association (COAI) and Indian Cellular Association (ICA).
According to ICA President Anand Mahendroo, there is a large market of counterfeit batteries in India, all imported mostly from China. “Seventy to 75 per cent of the 4-4.5 crore replacement battery market is dominated by counterfeit batteries,” Mahendroo said. A fake battery is available in the market for Rs 10 only, compared with Rs 200 for an original, due to duty difference, he added.
“Fake product is being used by people who contribute 150 to 180 average revenue per user per month, and these are the people who do not have any knowledge about these batteries,” COAI Director-General TV Ramachandran said. People who generally use fake batteries are ignorant consumers, he added.
A fake battery fails to cut of the charging when fully charged and can cause short circuit as well. It also underperforms. While the original battery would last for 4 hours of talk time, the fake battery would offer only one-one-and- a-half-hour of talk time.
Source: HindustanTimes
AT&T offers parental controls to iPhone users
Parents looking to for a way to to curtail pricey cell phone bills incurred by their children have a new weapon in their arsenal if they use service from AT&T Wireless. The cellular provider announced a new system Tuesday that allows parents to set limits on their children’s cell phone usage, including voice, texting, and web browsing.
AT&T’s Smart Limits for Wireless service is a web-based interface that lets parents control detailed aspects of their children’s cell phone plans, including service for Apple’s iPhone. The service costs $4.99 a month per line; besides the iPhone, it’s compatible with any AT&T GSM or 3G handset as well as any non-prepaid AT&T cell phone plan.
Users can set limits on how many minutes children can use and what time of day and days of the week the phone can be used, as well as blocking calls and text messages from specific telephone numbers. Callers covered by the service will get warnings when they approach the limits; service will be restricted once those limits are hit. Certain numbers can be set as Allowed Numbers, which exempts them from those restrictions and emergency numbers can be dialed, regardless of limits.
The service isn’t without its own limitations, however—including an iPhone-specific limitation. iPhone users cannot use Smart Limits’ Internet-filtering features because that capability won’t work with the iPhone’s Safari browser.
Other limitations to the service involve call blocking—that feature relies on on Caller ID, which is not always available, so some valid calls may not get through, and some calls which should be blocked won’t be. Also, the system cannot restrict Wi-Fi access, and while text messaging is controllable, sending and receiving picture and video messages is not.
The Smart Limits for Wireless system is part of a larger Smart Limits initiative that AT&T is deploying on all of its services, including landlines and broadband Internet.
Source: MacWorld
Microsoft Pondering iPhone Killer?
Reports from Citi's Global Technology Conference in New York today indicate that Microsoft may be readying its own rival to Apple's iPhone. In light of the iPhone's success as the biggest-selling smartphone in July, this news comes as no surprise. In fact, given how we've all known about the iPhone since the beginning of the year, I'm surprised that Microsoft isn't further along in the process.
The aforementioned report says that Microsoft wouldn't confirm rumors that it would have another iteration of its Zune media player in time for this year's holiday buying season. But a true hybrid phone/media player sounds like it's a ways off--which, if true, could be a detriment to such a device gaining traction.
Still, there could be some advantages to Microsoft getting in the game. Up until now, the company's strategy has been one of partnership: Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating system has proliferated to the point that handsets using the OS have a strong foothold in the smartphone market. But integrating hardware design with software design can have benefits. The iPhone's elegance reflects that: There, Apple had the benefit of controlling the design of both the operating system with the hardware, and that marriage made the sublime operation iPhone a possibility.
Microsoft could have a similar advantage if it designs its multimedia handheld environment in tandem with the hardware that will run that environment. In fact, the Zune's beautiful interface was one of its assets. I'm sure Redmond can come up with ways to integrate a phone and messaging interface within that environment--and a way to handle all of those JPEG files and Word documents, and more, too.
The company is no stranger to creating consumer hardware: Already, Xbox 360 is well-established, and the Zune player shipped last year. However, if Microsoft were to take the step to do its own handset, the company would end up competing with the same handset makers that already use its Windows Mobile OS--a tricky position for any company that supplies enabling technology to third-party customers, and then gets into that business under its own brand. In the end, though, I imagine we consumers are the ones who'd benefit most from such a rivalry.
The question that stands is whether Microsoft wants to get into the cell phone handset business itself--or will it instead expand on existing relationships with handset makers like HTC, which already produce touchscreen-enabled, Windows Mobile-based handsets. We'll find out soon enough, I'm sure; until then, let the speculation begin.
Source: PCWorld
