Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Bluetooth Keyfob that prevents you from losing your phone

Sunday, December 28th, 2008

Jonathan Morris over at What Mobile has written an interesting post about a new gadget that will be hitting the shops early next year!

Bluetooth is useful for many things, but the latest idea could be one of the coolest for some time. A keyfob sized gadget that backs up all your phone data and alerts you if the phone gets too far away.
The i-migo is a clever gadget that isn’t quite ready for sale yet, but should appear in 2009 when discussions take place between various handset manufacturers and network operators.

The idea is simple; the keyfob pairs with the phone and extracts content (contacts, messages, pictures etc) over Bluetooth whenever in range. Like the Sony Ericsson range of Bluetooth watches which have a ‘proximity detector’ feature, the i-migo will also warn you when the phone moves out of range (in other words, it loses the Bluetooth connection). This warning means you are no longer close to your phone. Perhaps you’ve left it on a desk or someone else has walked off with it?
The main purpose of the i-migo is to prevent you losing your phone (by vibrating and flashing if the phone goes out of range). However, if you do lose your phone, all is not lost. Firstly, with the appropriate support from the handset, it will be possible to have the phone completely locked out – just like a car with keyless operation. That gives peace of mind that nobody else is going to be able to do much with your phone. After that, when you get a new phone, the data you would have otherwise lost can be restored by simply pairing the i-migo once more.

The i-migo sounds like an awesome gadget and I think it will be really useful for those of us who have a tendency for losing things (not naming any names ;) ) The best bit is the ability is to completely lock down your phone, especially when your phone has some much valuable data about you.

Keep an eye on www.i-migo.com for more information!


Meteor reaches 1 million customers

Sunday, October 5th, 2008

A lot of the content here at MIR especially regarding the networks is heavily UK oriented, however I picked this up in my news feeds regarding one over the networks over the water in Ireland.

Over at Mobile News they are reporting that Meteor reached 1 million customers earlier this month;

Meteor chief executive Larry Smith presented the network’s one millionth customer, Dublin man Keith Hanlon, with a prize of €500 (£397) credit every month for the next 10 years.

Hanlon also walked away with a holiday worth €10,000, giving his prize package a total value of €70,000.

It is really good to see Meteor celebrating this milestone in style, congratulations to the team over at Meteor.

Review: Teleware PMN Rapid Deployment Unit (RDU)

Tuesday, September 30th, 2008

If you’re a true telecoms geek (and lets face it, if you’re reading MIR, you’re well on your way) then you’ve thought, nay dreamed, about having your own private mobile network. Even for the non-techies amongst us (I’ve been told there are some), the allure of not having to pay any money to the Vodafones and T-Mobiles of this world, and to be in control of your own destiny (at least as far as signal strength is concerned) is very appealing. Can new technology from Teleware make that a reality? Read on for our in-depth review. (more…)

Aussie cops ask for cameraphone evidence

Wednesday, March 26th, 2008

According to Aussie reports, cops in New South Wales are asking the public to submit photos or videos of crimes captured on cameraphones to the police to help them with their investigations. Users will then be able to upload the footage to the police over the internet.

Apparently, the move was inspired by the London bombings as well as riots in Sydney. According to ABC, the state’s police minister has warned would-be crime fighters to put their safety above gathering evidence.

With cameraphones’ resolution now around 5 megapixels or higher on most new models, it can’t be long til this type of footage will start appearing in court as exhibit A.

Nokia beats Qualcomm in UK court fight

Tuesday, March 4th, 2008

Nokia has bested Qualcomm in the ongoing fight over patents here in Blighty. A high court judge yesterday ruled the disputed Qualcomm GSM patents invalid and said Nokia doesn’t need to compensate Qualcomm for them.

The defeat follows an International Trade Commission decision last week to turn down Qualcomm’s petition for review of Judge Luckern’s Initial Determination last year, which said Nokia does not infringe the three alleged Qualcomm patents in the case and that one of the patents is invalid. It also follows an agreement between two to stand down on patent litigation.

Hopefully the agreement between the two – and not the court fights – is an indicator of how the Nokia-Qualcomm relationship will play out. I can’t help but think if they put took their lawyers’ wages and reivested them into their engineers’ wages, it might be a better result all round.

BT shedding more mobile customers

Monday, February 18th, 2008

According to The Times, BT’s mobile users are at an all time low. Not in the emotional sense, just numerically.

The paper says that there are now only 86,000 people with BT as their mobile provider, the lowest amount since the telco’s numbers started. It’s not really a great surprise, given BT hasn’t had its own mobile network for a good long time and its last big pushes into mobile, Fusion and Movio, weren’t a real hit with customers.

BT is apparently working on a new mobile strategy, although there’s aren’t many details at the moment on what that will entail. Chances are there will be more Fusion, perhaps with a more businessy edge and, who knows, maybe an all out exit from consumer mobile services altogether.

Judge Rules in Broadcom vs. Qualcomm

Wednesday, January 2nd, 2008

qualcomm
A Federal California judge has ruled in the patent infringement case between Broadcom and Qualcomm. Broadcom claims that Qualcomm is infringing on three patents, covering WCDMA chips, EV-DO chips, and technology around mobile video compression, walkie-talkie services, and simultaneous network connections. The judge decided that Qualcomm has to immediately stop shipping all 3G/WCDMA chips infringing on the patents. However, for the EV-DO chips, they’re allowed to continue selling, but with restrictions.

The EV-DO chips that Qualcomm has been selling since May 29th, 2007 can continue to be sold, but only to existing customers, and only until January 31st, 2009. On the 31st, they must cease selling/shipping the chips, and are barred from infringing on the patents again. Also, Qualcomm must pay mandatory royalties to Broadcom for all chips sold and shipped between now and January 31st, 2009.

Broadcom was seeking a much more strict ruling, and has already complained that the chips that Qualcomm says work around the patent are still infringing.

I can understand why the judge made his decision. Qualcomm is a major player in the mobile network infrastructure around the globe, and he didn’t want to completely put them under by requiring them to halt all sales immediately. However, with the current ruling, he essentially slapped them on the wrist and said, ‘It’s not ok to infringe on the patents, but since you’re already doing it, I’ll give you time to develop something else, so that you aren’t fully punished for what you’ve done.’

Qualcomm used to manufacture handsets, in addition to chipsets and the like. In fact, my first cellphone was a Qualcomm on Sprint’s network here in the U.S. However, as of late, they’ve become what appears to be little more than a patent holding company, which really bothers me quite a bit. They’re at odds with the ITC, as well as with Nokia and most of the other cellphone manufacturers for unfair licensing policies. At the same time, I do believe that they should be compensated for the things they’ve researched and designed.

The iPhone Is NOT The Best Music Phone

Wednesday, January 2nd, 2008

iphone_music
I’ve recently gotten my mitts on a 4GB iPhone for testing and because I’m a geek. I’ve been playing with it for a few days, but the first thing I’ve come to realize is that it’s far from the ultimate music phone.

The problem is not in getting music ON the phone (which is where most other handsets fail miserably). It’s disgustingly simple to get music ONTO the iPhone, and the organization is similar to the iPod, which is well accepted to be dead-easy to use.

The problem lies in attempting to ENJOY that music. You can’t easily do so. There’s three main ways to enjoy music – wired, wireless, and through loudspeakers. The iPhone sucks at all three. It has a 3.5mm jack, so Jobs would say it’s not proprietary. However, that jack was recessed into the handset, so you must use Apple’s specially designed headphones, or purchase a special adapter, which means it might as well be proprietary, for all intents and purposes.

Now let’s look at wireless. The iPhone HAS Bluetooth, but you can’t do much with it. The necessary profiles are missing, namely A2DP. This is something that Apple has routinely NOT put in their iPod line, and it really bothers me. It’s secure, there’s no reason not to include it. Thus, the iPhone cannot be used with any stereo Bluetooth headphones.

Last, the speakers built-in suck. They’re inconveniently located at the bottom of the device, and they’re dual-mono, meaning you get the same sound out of both speakers. They don’t get very loud, and they’re simply sub-par for what seems to be marketed as a ‘music device’. Again, you can’t use external speakers, other than using a proprietary dock.

Coming from the Nokia N95, I’m used to having a bear of a time trying to get music ONTO the device (save for having to suffer through Windows Media Player), but having zero issues enjoying the music in whatever form suits me. WIth the Nokia, I can even pair a regular single-ear Bluetooth headset and listen to music, which is great for podcasts and the like. I have a 3.5mm lead in my truck that I added myself, to use with my iPod, and more recently, my N81 8GB or N95. This lead won’t work on the iPhone, which is frustrating.

It begs the question, though. What is more important to get mass usage? Being able to easily *get* music onto your music phone, or having the ability to enjoy that music in several different ways?


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