Cell Phones Zone

IBM and RIM Mobilize Web 2.0 Capabilities

IBM and Research In Motion (RIM) are taking mobile work far beyond email by delivering to mainstream business professionals the full line of Web 2.0-powered IBM Lotus collaboration software and information on demand on the market-leading BlackBerry platform.

The joint initiative enables customers to securely manage their communications, contacts and schedules and collaborate and network through social software, all from within the interface of their BlackBerry smartphones. This includes the general availability of the new BlackBerry Client for IBM Lotus Connections, IBM’s social software for business.

IBM and RIM are making the following technologies portable and accessible, anytime and anywhere:

• Portals & Dashboards: IBM WebSphere Portal and IBM dashboard software lets businesses build Web sites and single screen dashboard views that deliver information, applications and processes personalized to the individual BlackBerry smartphone user.
• Social Networking: The BlackBerry Client for IBM Lotus Connections helps people tap into the collective knowledge of others and find the people and information they need for the task at hand while on the go.
• Messaging and Calendaring: BlackBerry Enterprise Server for IBM Lotus Notes and Domino enables access to key email and calendaring functions as well as custom applications built with Lotus Domino.
• Unified Communications: The BlackBerry Client for IBM Lotus Sametime lets people access their full buddy list, send and receive instant messages, view presence information and convert an IM session to a phone call with a simple click.
• Business Intelligence: IBM Cognos 8 Go! Mobile business intelligence software is the industry’s first business intelligence solution designed specifically for the BlackBerry platform. It provides personalized secure business information in the right context to allow people to view and interact with dashboard-style reports to make informed decisions while they are on the move.

via [phonemag]

The BlackBerry mobile solution for the Lotus collaboration software suite is available today and is being showcased this week at the Wireless Enterprise Symposium (WES) 2008 in Orlando. The BlackBerry client software for Lotus Sametime and Lotus Connections are both now available as a free download for Lotus customers at www.blackberry.com/go/ibmresources.

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LG and Samsung Join Forces to Develop and Promote Mobile Digital TV Standard

LG and Samsung will propose their jointly developed technology as the North American technology standard for mobile DTV. Samsung and LG held a signing ceremony at Seoul Plaza Hotel in Seoul, Korea, on May 14, 2008. At the ceremony, the two companies agreed to cooperate in order to assure rapid adoption by the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) of a single common in-band mobile DTV standard.

Technology for the jointly proposed system will reflect the findings of the IDOV (Independent Demonstration of Viability) conducted by the Association of Maximum Service Television (MSTV) on behalf of the Open Mobile Video Coalition (OMVC). A report on IDOV will be submitted by the OMVC to the ATSC.

“LG and Samsung are already world-class in digital TV and mobile communications, said LG President and Chief Technology Officer Woo Paik. “Through this collaboration, we also have an opportunity to lead the North American mobile DTV market.”

Added JongWoo Park, President of Samsung Digital Media Business: “Our collaboration on North American mobile DTV standardization will help accelerate the ATSC standardization of mobile TV technology, which will benefit both consumers and broadcasters.”

ATSC is expected to adopt the mobile/handheld DTV standard for the North American market in early 2009 following trials of the technology by the Open Mobile Video Coalition (OMVC), a group of leading U.S. broadcasters who are vigorously promoting the development and early deployment of mobile DTV.

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Are mobile phones more important that your wallet?

Apparently it would seem so as more than one third of workers would choose their mobile phone over their keys, digital music player, laptop and even their wallet should they be required to leave their house for twenty-four hours and could only take one thing with them according to a latest survey.

Market Research Company IGC conducted the survey which was sponsored by Nortel Networks Corp, and found 38% of the 2,367 people surveyed would choose their mobile phone while less than 30% would choose their wallet above all else. Nortel, who are North America’s largest maker of telephone gear, commissioned the survey looking to find out just how many workers around the globe could be defines as “hyperconnected” or those who have fully embraced the technologies of multiple devices such as mobile phones and laptop computers along with applications such as social networking site Facebook and email.

The answer they found was 16% and growing. The survey classified the hyperconnected worker as one who uses a minimum of seven devices for work and private access with the addition of at least nine apps such as text messaging, web conferencing and instant messaging. According to the study the country with the highest percentage of hyperconnected people is ( and I personally thought this would be quite obvious) China, while Canada and the UAE has the least number amongst the seventeen countries which were covered in the survey.

The survey also predicts a rise of 40 percent of hyperconnected people within the next five years, which could bode well for Toronto based Nortel who are relying heavily on the hopes that network demand and bandwidth rise as more and more devices connect to the net thus making the demand for network technologies it produces rise too.

Following the group of hard-core communications users is an even larger subset where 36% are designated as “increasingly connected,” these workers use a minimum of four devices and six applications. However, Nortel’s hope for an influx of new devices going online is yet to translate into a robust bottom line as Nortel has struggles since the technology bubble exploded previously this decade.

Nortel predicts their revenue growth for the coming year will be somewhere in the low single digits, and already announced 2,100 redundancies back in February above that of the 1,000 slashed since 2001. Nortel also estimate it could take years for some of the newer technologies it has designed to find large markets, and meanwhile competition is fierce as low cost Asian companies like Huawei Technologies fight for the market share.

On the Toronto Stock Exchange Nortel shares were down 30 Canadian cents to C$7.90, and in March they slumped down to C$6.45.

Source – Reuters

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Touch Wall

Microsoft’s annual CEO Summit today is bringing 115 CEOs from 26 countries, to Redmond. Bill Gates will demo a new prototype touch computing device called TouchWall and Plex, which envisions a new “Minority Report” type touch screen.

Tech Crunch has more details on the interactive, rear-screen white board.

Yes, …
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Motorola Hong Kong Names Ritchie Ma General Manager of…

Motorola Hong Kong Names Ritchie Ma General Manager of Mobile Devices Business
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LiMo Foundation Expand its Members Group

LiMo Foundation announced today the addition of Infineon Technologies, Kvaleberg AS, Mozilla Corporation, Red Bend Software, Sagem Mobiles, SFR, SK Telecom and Verizon Wireless as new member companies. Expanding LiMo’s membership to 40 since the foundation’s launch in January 2007, these companies join with existing LiMo members to collaborate on the LiMo Platform, a Linux-based software platform for mobile devices.

“This latest group of new members demonstrates the rapidly expanding reach of the LiMo ecosystem, and we are very excited by their commitment to further enrich the LiMo Platform and accelerate its adoption within all markets,” said Morgan Gillis, executive director of LiMo Foundation. “It is now clear that LiMo’s transparent and participative governance model and total focus on the handset operating system-which are designed to avoid value-chain distortion-are proving to be very attractive to the whole industry.”

Launched in January 2007 by six mobile industry leaders-Motorola, NEC, NTT DoCoMo, Panasonic Mobile Communications, Samsung Electronics and Vodafone-LiMo was formed to deliver an open and globally consistent software platform based upon Mobile Linux for use by the whole industry to catalyze next-generation mobile consumer experiences. LiMo Foundation is open to all vendors and service providers in the mobile communications marketplace, including device manufacturers, operators, chipset manufacturers, integrators and independent software vendors. LiMo members are participating collectively to building a rich ecosystem and have the ability to influence the evolution of the LiMo Platform, leaving them free to provide compelling and differentiated services to customers.

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Sharp SX862 Web Browsing Mobile Video Review & Details

Not sure if anyone has heard of the Sharp SX862 so let me tell you a little about it, oh and we have a video below of what it looks like whilst web browsing.

Here are some details on the Sharp SX862: The Sharp SX862 has many features which include a stunning 3.2 wide screen (854 x 480 pixels) with VGA resolution and 2000:1 contrast ratio which give a beautiful and meticulous screen viewing. It has a 16:9 wide screen plus an excellent resolution of 30 FPS (Frames per Second) for pretty smooth video play back. It also has a built-in multimedia player with fast forward, rotating and suspension plus other functions which are easy to use.

You can clearly see looking at the picture above the handset has a rotating screen which is called the “T” model and of course gives you horizontal screen viewing, the Sharp SX862 has HTML browser and supports 3.6Mbps HSDPA Internet access which means you will see the whole mobile browser page. It also has a 3.2 megapixel camera which will also give you video recording and playback VGA high-resolution video plus takes high-definition quality pictures which you will just love.

Personally I think the Sharp SX862 is damn ugly but hey if it works better than phones that look hot then I should not moan about its looks. Anyway please watch the Sharp SX862 web browsing mobile video review below.

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China Quake: Twitter to the Rescue?

From the BBC’s website this morning:

I was beginning to think Twitter - the micro-blogging service that’s all the rage amongst the technorati - was just another fad for people who want to share too much of their rather dull lives. Until this morning.

When I logged on to my desktop Twitter …
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BlackLine GPS Protects Mobile Workers with LonerMobile

BlackLine GPS today announces LonerMobile, an application for GPS-enabled BlackBerry smartphones. LonerMobile creates a multi-layered sphere of protection for mobile and lone workers.

LonerMobile’s multi-layered protection ensures that employers are aware of their mobile worker’s safety via connection monitoring, confirmation of worker awareness, and location through GPS reporting. Supported by BlackLine’s Location Services Platform, the LonerMobile application notifies the employer through safety alerts communicated via text message, email, and BlackLine’s Web monitoring portal. Alert types include missed user check-in and loss of device communication. In the event that a mobile worker requires emergency assistance, a GPS location history enables the employer to quickly determine the mobile worker’s most recent location.

“BlackLine’s LonerMobile application for BlackBerry smartphones expands our mobile worker protection product line, joining our industry-leading, dedicated LonerGPS device,” commented Patrick Rousseau, President and Co-founder of BlackLine GPS. Further adding “LonerMobile creates a completely new category of GPS functionality for mobile workers who rely on the BlackBerry platform.”

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Blackberry Thunder 9500 full touchscreen surely an iPhone killer

This is what you have all been waiting for, the all new Blackberry Thunder or model name Blackberry 9500 as it is known. This is a stunning BlackBerry mobile with full touchscreen and with only 4 physical keys.

So is the BlackBerry Thunder an Apple iPhone Killer? The Thunder/9500 is BlackBerry’s first ever mobile phone with full touch screen where it has been said to be a piece of mobile perfection and quality, this all new handset will be part of the leading wireless carriers n Europe and America, apparently being exclusive on Verizon Wireless in the States and Vodafone in Europe.

For some reason I am singing the Queen song with thunder, bolts and lightning but hey I am mad, strange how a phone name can make you think of a song maybe I need help, anyway back to the phone. The information on specifications are pretty slim at the moment but we will give you what we already know, well in fact what Boy Genius Report knows, so far the features include Full Touch Screen, 4 Simple Keys (send, end, menu, and back), Hybrid device supporting many carrier technologies, Available exclusively on Vodafone in Europe, Available exclusively on Verizon Wireless in the United States.

Just so everyone knows it does not have slide out keyboard, the handset will apparently be an hybrid device with CDMA EV-DO Rev. C (for clarification, Rev C., known as UMB is practically dead, be good to see if this handset will launch with a 4G solution but as BGR say it will probably be on LTE and GSM HSPA. Oh just so you know the picture above is not real, the picture is for illustration purposes, information is slim as so are the photos.

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Source - BGR

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