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Mobile News
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Sprint To Launch 4G in 2007
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July 8, 2006
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Sprint today announced they will roll out their 4G wireless broadband network beginning in the fourth quarter of 2007. Though it tested many options, the carrier chose to use the 802.
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Verizon Frees Music From Data Subscriptions and Windows Media
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July 31, 2006
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Verizon today announced it would no longer require customers with VCAST Music capable phones to subscribe to a VPAK in order to download music. Users can now log into the VCAST music store on their handset and purchase songs for the standard $1.99 per track. However as with all content viewed or purchased without a data plan, a la carte data charges or airtime charges, will be included in addition to the song`s price. Verizon made this change in conjunction with the launch of the Chocolate, a ne
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Alltel To Launch First FasTap Phone in U.S.
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July 31, 2006
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Alltel and Digit Wireless today announced the LG AX-490, the country`s first phone with a FasTap text keypad. FasTap speeds messaging and other text entry by adding individual letter keys in-between the number keys of a standard phone keypad. The FasTap keypad also enables one-touch shortcuts to nearly any function of the phone. The clamshell CDMA phone also features Bluetooth, a VGA camera, BREW, a full-color OLED outer display, and speaker-independent voice control. The AX-490 will be availabl
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FCC Removes Bidding Blindfold
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July 29, 2006
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The FCC today announced that the bidders for the AWS spectrum due to start August 9 have been finalized. 168 Bidders have qualified, more than two-thirds of which have qualified for modified discounts. Because the ratio of those eligible for discounts to those ineligible is 3:1, the FCC has suspended the modified blind bidding rules it had intended to impose on this auction. Bidders will be able to see the names and bids for each round. New designated entity rules will remain in place, and any c
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Verizon, Equipment Cos. Improve IMS For Real World Deployment
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July 26, 2006
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Verizon today, along with equipment manufacturing heavyweights unveiled two documents proposing improvements to IP Multimedia Subsystems (IMS). IMS is the new standard that is supposed to allow carriers to switch to an all IP network, including voice calls as well as create a unified experience for subscribers across a number of networks. The advances proposed today address a number of IMS`s weaknesses. The proposal outlines systems to improve IMS when handing off data streams from one network t
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Motorola To Launch HSDPA Phones in Q4
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July 26, 2006
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Motorola this week announced two new WCDMA+HSDPA phones. Although initially announced in versions for European networks, executives have repeatedly hinted at US versions. Both phones feature HSDPA at 3.6 Mbps, dual cameras for video calling, QVGA displays, Bluetooth, and microSD memory card slots.
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Kodiak Adds Wiretap Compliance
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July 26, 2006
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Kodiak yesterday announced a partnership with a company called SS8 that will allow them to comply with new CALEA requirements. Two years ago the Communications Assistance to Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) was amended requiring that carriers provide law enforcement with access to push to talk conversations as well as phone calls and other wireless communication when presented with a warrant. Push to talk tapping has always been difficult since conversations don`t go through a central server except f
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Freescale Slims Down 3G Phones
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July 26, 2006
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Freescale has announced a new manufacturing technique that could reduce the bulk of 3G phones. The new manufacturing process reduces the bulk of a 3G chipset by up to 30%. Freescale`s new package includes all the processors and components necessary to run a 3G phone in a 1 inch square package. Unlike many methods which typically use more expensive or less reliable processes to shrink cell phone chipsets, the technology Freescale uses claims to be less expensive and more advanced. Thus the compan
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Motorola Continues Handset Onslaught
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July 26, 2006
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(updated) Motorola today announced several new phones, in addition to the several announced yesterday:
* FONE: A mass-market ultra-thin phone. A 9mm, Motorola`s thinnest phone yet. Sports a "ClearVision" display using new Electrophoretic Display (EPD) technology for long battery life and high-contrast viewing in all conditions. All-new user interface using icons and voice aids. Dual antennas - at the top and bottom. Available later this year in both CDMA and GSM versions.
* ic502: Mo
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New Motorola Phones Get A Human Touch
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July 25, 2006
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Motorola today announced a CDMA SLVR, and made official the two handsets that were previously code-named the Canary and Capri. The clamshell is officially called the KRZR while the slider is now known as the RIZR. All phones feature Bluetooth, a microSD memory card slot, and 176 x 220 displays.
* KRZR: The RAZR successor has a narrower profile and new finishes. It features quad-band GSM / EDGE (class 12), a 2 megapixel camera with MPEG-4 video recording, a music player with MP3 and AAC ca
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Yahoo! Go Coming to Moto Phones
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July 21, 2006
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Motorola and Yahoo! today announced a deal to pre-load "Yahoo! Go for Mobile" software on tens of millions of new Motorola mobile devices next year. The software combines mail, search, contacts, and local info into one application. The companies would not reveal which software platforms the software would run on; Motorola currently makes different phones that run Windows Mobile, Java, or BREW software. Yahoo! already has similar deals in place with Nokia for S60 phones, and Research in Motion fo
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Qualcomm Details HSUPA Progress
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July 18, 2006
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ualcomm this week announced significant progress toward bringing HSUPA technology to market in 2007. The company is demonstrating its MSM7200 HSUPA chipset this week at EXPO COMM in Japan. The MSM7200 achieves 2.0 Mbps on the uplink, about six times faster than what is possible with current WCDMA and HSDPA networks. Ten device manufacturers are already working on HSUPA phones using the MSM7200. Qualcomm is also launching interoperability testing with other companies; Nokia and Nortel have also c
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DoCoMo Recharges Phones With Water
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July 18, 2006
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el source. The charger has a catalysts which converts the water to hydrogen that then fuels it. The catalyst is good for several charges. This new water charger is significantly smaller and twice as powerful as methanol based chargers that the company showed off last year. It produces enough power to charge the phone in the same amount of time as an AC socket. Because it only lasts for a few charges, this charger is not meant to replace AC models, but as a supplement for people who use 3G servic
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FCC Approves Motorola Canary, Officially Called K1
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July 15, 2006
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The FCC today approved the successor to the Motorola`s RAZR, code-named Canary. The RAZR K1 has been approved as a quad-band GSM / EDGE phone with Bluetooth. The manual lists the device as the K1 (GSM) lending credibility to other evidence that K1 will be the official designation for this phone and that a CDMA model is due out on Verizon as well. Like the Capri, the K1 has a Micro SD slot under the battery cover and is due to have the same 176 x 220 screen and 2 Megapixel camera as its slider co
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FCC Approves Nokia E50(s)
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July 15, 2006
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The FCC today approved the Nokia E50 business phone. Instead of the single model Nokia announced, the FCC approved two - one with a 1.3 Megapixel camera as announced, and a second without a camera. The models are identical otherwise. Both feature quad band GSM / EDGE in a slim candybar form and include software to access corporate email using a variety of servers including Blackberry, Good, Seven and Visto. Features also include Bluetooth 2.0, a Micro SD slot and document viewers.
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LG Reveals Next Cingular 3G Phone
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July 14, 2006
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LG has launched a web site for the CU500, a new 3G phone previously mentioned by Cingular but never revealed. The CU500 is a slim metallic clamshell with a rotating 1.3 megapixel camera in the hinge. It has HSDPA 3G data, which is up to 5 times faster than the UMTS data used in Cingular`s first 3G phones. It also has a wide variety of multimedia applications designed to take advantage of the higher data speeds and advanced capabilities of this phone. These include a Cingular Video player for pur
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3G Treo Launching in Europe First
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July 13, 2006
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Palm today announced it will launch a UMTS Treo this year. Palm gave very few details except that it will run Windows Mobile and that it will include the messaging and security feature pack with direct push capability when launched. The new Treo will be available on Vodafone networks throughout Europe before the end of the year. Palm gave no indication when or if the new Treo would be available on other UMTS carriers. Nor did Palm provide any clues as to whether this device would also include GS
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Cingular Joins Platform Committee
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July 12, 2006
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The OMTP announced that Cingular has joined the association of carriers and manufacturers. The Open Mobile Terminal Platform (OMTP) makes recommendations for handset and interface design based on the needs of carriers. The recommendations tend to focus on creating a friendlier and more secure experience for users, but also include technological requirements as well. Complying with these recommendations should make it faster and easier for a handset to be approved by participating carriers. T-Mob
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Symbian Updates OS For Faster Data, Cheaper Phones
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July 12, 2006
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Symbian today announced version 9.3 of the operating system that powers the majority of smartphones around the world. Symbian is the core that both S60 and UIQ run on. The newest version adds new features aimed at advancing the platform both at the high and low ends. Symbian 9.3 now includes support for Wi-Fi, and HSDPA for faster data transfers, as well as Push To Talk over Cellular (PoC). The latest version of S60 and UIQ both include support for Wi-Fi, however those were added on by the inter
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Sprint Seals Privacy Hole
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July 12, 2006
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Sprint today announced they have closed a hole in an automated registration system that would reveal the name and address of any Sprint subscriber to the caller. The automated system, used to sign subscribers up for international calling plans, originally would ask the caller to confirm the name and address of any Sprint Nextel customer after a phone number was entered. Later the caller could access the names of other subscribers in that household, all without ever having to answer any security
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