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May 10, 2008
If Montreal-based telecommunications consultancy SeaBoard Group is right, Canada could see new mobile carriers as early as next summer. In a study called "Champagne Tastes: Beer Budgets", the company reports that the startup costs and times required to set up a mobile network are much lower than many analysts have predicted.
SeaBoard expects that a company would need to spend about CAD$500 million to set up a network that would cover about 60 percent of the population in the top 15 markets. Such a deployment could be complete by next summer.
SeaBoard's estimates are based on the fact that incumbent carriers (like Rogers Wireless and Bell Mobility) will need to rent space on their towers to new companies. This saves these new players the necessity to build out their own cellphone tower network. Equipment and deployment costs have also come down significantly as the technology has matured.
Canada's spectrum auction starts on May 27th and will run for about a month. Winners should be announced by the summer at the latest.
May 9, 2008
The MSI Wind is expected in June and is now available for pre-order through Expansys. It looks like Expansys will carry two models at first. The Linux version will sell for USD$559.95 (£319.95) and the Windows XP Home version will sell for USD$609.95 (£349.95).
The site has also shed some light on additional specifications. Both will be powered by a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor and will come with an LED-backlit 10-inch display (running a resolution of 1024x 600), 1GB RAM, a 2.5-inch 80GB hard drive, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0, a 1.3MP webcam, and a 3-cell lithium-ion battery. Both will be available in white, black or pink.
An 8.9-inch version of the MSI Wind is also expected but is not yet available for pre-order.
Those who attended MWG's announcement about its expansion into Europe also got to see some details about the company's product roadmap for the remainder of 2008 and early 2009. A total of seven devices are in the pipeline.
In Q3 2008, a single device codenamed Rici is planned. It will feature Windows Mobile 6.1, 7.2Mbps HSDPA and 5.2Mbps HSUPA connectivity, a 3MP camera and GPS in a 12.5mm thick form factor.
In Q4, things get more interesting with a total of four devices being planned. First up is the MWg Flame II which will apparently run Windows Mobile 7. It will come with a 3.5-inch (or perhaps larger) display, multimedia features, a 3.2MP camera and GPS. The MWg Iris features a slide-out keyboard and comes with 7.2Mbps HSDPA and 5.2Mbps HSUPA connectivity and GPS. The Graphite II looks to be the first Windows Mobile Standard device that MWG will put out. Unfortunately, no details are available for it aside that it will have a non-touch screen. The last device to be introduced in Q4 is the MWg Walk PC which looks to be a UMPC-type device. Running Windows Vista Tablet, it will come with 3G connectivity but no other specs are known at this time.
In the first half of 2009, expect two more devices to come out. Both will run Windows Mobile 7. The MWg Atom VI will succeed the Atom V, offering 7.2Mbps HSDPA and 5.2Mbps HSUPA connectivity, a 3.2MP camera and GPS. The MWg Vix promises an improved slide-out QWERTY keyboard, a 3.2MP camera and GPS.
All in all, MWG is offering a promising set of devices.
Only days after its formal announcement, the HTC Touch Diamond has landed on the FCC web site, indicating that it has passed U.S. radio frequency requirements. A closer look though reveals that the model certified lacks the 850MHz GSM and 3G bands used by carriers such as AT&T. It would appear that HTC is simply looking to certify the model about to be released in Europe, possibly for U.S. roaming.
HTC will release the HTC Touch Diamond in North America later this year but there are no timelines or carrier details yet (although there are rumours that Sprint will carry a CDMA version).
Source: Wirelessinfo.com
MWg formally announced the expansion of its operations into Europe at an event earlier today and used the occasion to unveil their latest Windows Mobile handsets, the Atom V and Zinc II.
The Atom V is the first device designed exclusively by MWg. It is powered by a 520MHz Intel XScale processor and Windows Mobile 6 Professional. It comes with quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE and single-band UMTS/HSDPA (7.2) connectivity, a 2.8-inch QVGA touchscreen display, 64MB RAM and 256MB ROM, 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, built-in GPS (with SiRF Star III chipset), a 2MP camera, an FM radio with RDS, and a microSD expansion slot.
The MWg Zinc II is the slimmer successor the original O2 Xda Zinc. Powered by a 500MHz Samsung processor and Windows Mobile 6.1, it comes with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE and tri-band UMTS/HSDPA (3.6), a 2.8-inch QVGA touchscreen display, 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0, buit-in GPS (with SiRF Star III chipset) and a 2MP camera. The MWg Zinc II is a sleek slider device with a full QWERTY keypad - featuring a slimmer profile than the original O2 Xda Zinc, more exciting features and an exclusive new design.
Both devices come with a custom user interface called Quick Menu which allows users to tap large graphic icons with their fingertips as well as flip between menus by dragging their finger across the screen, eliminating the need for a stylus.
MWg also announced plans for a number of future devices. A further three to five products are planned in 2008. According to a presentation made during the announcement, these include a smartphone and an HTC Shift-like UMPC.
Current MWg products can are already available in Europe through retailers as well as www.expansys.com. The Atom V sells for £399.95 (inc. VAT) and the Zinc II for £449.95 (inc. VAT) once it starts to ship later this month.
Pointui has updated Home again. Home is a free replacement Windows Mobile interface designed with controls large enough to manage with your finger or your d-pad. Home is designed to allow easy viewing of critical information on one screen with quick access for locking the device, changing sound profiles, wireless, battery and general settings. It features an Applet Ribbon to let you easily access applications like tasks, appointments, and weather updates.
Version 1.51a comes with an updated look, new customization options and bug fixes. The forum notes also indicate that the Update Manager has been removed. It is currently available for Windows Mobile 5.0 and Windows Mobile 6 devices with QVGA screens (screen resolutions supported: 240x240, 240x320 and 320x240).
Home is available for free from our affiliate Clickapps. While free, the Pointui site suggests that there will be a version for sale later on (presumably with extra features like theme colours and user backgrounds.
The Boy Genius is reporting that Research in Motion will formally announce the BlackBerry 9000 next week on May 12th as the Wireless Enterprise Symposium(WES) 2008. Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-Chief Executive Officer Research In Motion, is expected to make the announcement.
For those attending the show, RIM is expected to have the new BlackBerry 9000 at their booth to play with.
May 8, 2008
For those looking to run Windows XP on their HP 2133 Mini-Note, HP has now released a number of updates for the Windows XP Professional operating system. Among the downloads, you will find Essential System Updates for Microsoft Windows XP (Service Pack 2), HP 3D DriveGuard for Microsoft Windows XP, and the Broadcom Wireless Utility.
Hopefully, this also means that we are close to HP offering Windows XP on the Mini-Note.
Source: jkOnTheRun
DigiTimes is reporting more bad news in the land of low-cost notebooks like the ASUS Eee and HP Mini-Note. First there was news of Atom processor shortages and now comes news that 8.9-inch display panels could also face constraint in the second half of the year. Estimates suggest that there could be demand for up to 15 million panels from ASUS, HP, Acer and Dell.
To date, there are only two suppliers for the panels: Chunghwa Picture Tubes (CPT) and AU Optronics (AUO). Together they have capacity to ship about 5 million panels this year, according to industry sources. That leaves a significant gap that will need to be filled by new suppliers coming into play. Samsung Electronics, Chi Mei Optoelectronics (CMO), LG Display (LGD), and HannStar Display are all scheduled to start offering 8.9-inch panels soon.
Sources expect that Samsung, CMO and LGD will be able to provide up to 9.5 million panels this year. This assume that they don't run into production delays. That leaves a shortage of about 500,000 panels that hopefully HannStar can cover when it starts production in June. Overall, it looks like the numbers will be close.
The bottom line: You might want to get your order in early to guarantee that you get yourself one of these new notebooks.
Bell Mobility announced today the immediate availability of BlackBerry Unite!, software designed to providesmall groups of up to five BlackBerry smartphone users with easy, mobile access to email, web browsing, a shared calendar, shared contacts, pictures, documents, and other desktop computer content.
BlackBerry Unite! provides a centralized contact address book, a shared calendar and the ability to share BlackBerry smartphone content such as photos, documents and other files. It also provides SD card over the air backups, centralized smartphone control including password protection enforcement, remote device wipes and device configuration.
BlackBerry Unite! is available for free for Bell clients with a BlackBerry Email and Internet 25 or better rate plan.