Acer , the world's third largest PC vendor, is in talks with several 3G network operators at home and in Europe to supply Aspire one netbooks with built-in 3G.
Austin Makes Plans For Wireless Internet Published Date: 07-14-2008 12:59 PM CT In news elsewhere around the state:The city of Austin plans to implement wireless internet in a one-mile area of downtown by ...
The new iPhone 3G combines all the original features of the iPhone plus 3G networking that is twice as fast, built-in GPS for expanded location-based mobile services, and iPhone 2.0 software, which includes support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync and runs more than 800 third-party applications available through the new App Store. In the U.S., the new iPhone 3G is priced at $199 for the 8GB model, and $299 for the 16GB model.
A 'Great Start'
The iPhone 3G is selling in 21 countries -- Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and the U.S. -- and will go on sale in France on July 17.
"iPhone 3G had a stunning opening weekend," said Apple CEO Steve Jobs. "It took 74 days to sell the first one million original iPhones, so the new iPhone 3G is clearly off to a great start around the world."
10 Million in Three Days
Apple also announced that iPhone and iPod touch users have downloaded more than 10 million applications from the App Store since its launch late last week. More than 800 native applications are available, with more than 200 offered free and more than 90 percent priced at less than $10.
Developers have created a wide array of mobile applications ranging from games to location-based social networking to medical applications to enterprise productivity tools. Users can wirelessly download applications directly onto their iPhone or iPod touch and start using them immediately.
"The App...
Creative, a worldwide leader in digital entertainment, today announced the ZEN X-Fi and ZEN X-Fi with Wireless LAN digital media players for music, video and photos.
There’s a wildfire. — Andromeda Strain
A remotely piloted aircraft carrying a NASA sensor flew over much of California earlier this week , gathering information that will be used to help fight more than 300 wildfires burning within the state.
NASA’s unmanned Ikhana aircraft, derived from a General Atomics Predator uses a sophisticated Autonomous Modular Scanner developed at NASA’s Ames. Ikhana’s onboard sensor can detect temperature differences from less than one-half degree to approximately 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
NASA bought a ground control station and satellite communication system from General Atomics. The ground control station is in a mobile trailer and includes the pilot’s “cockpit,” as well as computer workstations for scientists and engineers.
The Ikhana aircraft imaged almost 4,000 square miles from Santa Barbara north to the Oregon border during a flight on July 8 which provided information about the location, size and terrain around the fires to commanders in the field in as little as 10 minutes. More than 400 pounds of sensors can be carried internally and over 2,000 pounds in external under-wing pods.
Fire images are collected onboard Ikhana and transmitted through a communications satellite to NASA Ames. There, the imagery is superimposed over Google Earth and Microsoft Virtual Earth maps. The imagery is then transmitted to the Multi-Agency Coordination Center in Redding, Calif., and the State Operations Center in Sacramento, which distribute fire data to incident commanders in the field.
From a ground control center, NASA pilots are flying the aircraft in close coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration, which is allowing flights within the national airspace while maintaining safe separation from other aircraft.
NASA was working with the Forest Service on a demonstration mission later this summer, but moved up the schedule in response to the widespread fires.
The Zephyr solar-powered UAV technology, developed by British defense research group QinetiQ, will be used in Boeing’s ultra-long endurance planes for the military. The Zephyr flies on solar power and through the night on batteries. Boeing’s Vulture UAV hopes to carry a 1,000-pound, 5-kilowatt payload, maintaining its on-station position for 5 years.
NASA satellites also are capturing imagery of the wildfires. NASA’s EO-1 hyperspectrual satellite, using the Hyperion spectrometer observes 220 contiguous wavelengths, spanning the spectrum from visible light to shortwave infrared.
Broadband applications and mashups invite everyone in the pool. Open platforms from Open Handset Alliance, Nokia’s Symbian and Open Moko will soon extend the capability of more phones.
Apple’s iPhone App Store may emerge as the No. 1 reason why people switch to the iPhone 3G this year, says Richard Doherty, director at consultancy Envisioneering Group. I-Phone application like Twitterific let users access Twitter from their handset. uLocate lets users find friends nearby.
Social networks like Twitter have created a networked community of active, vital people. That’s where groups like Mercy Corps and Humaninet come in. They have real-world experience and know what’s needed in an emergency.
The HumaniNet team will be at Portland’s NW Lucky Lab tavern tonight (19th & Quimby) for an informal update and roundtable on their Maps 2.0 initiative and related projects with Google Earth/Maps, GPS, and GIS in general.
Related DailyWireless stories include, 2007 California Wildfires Networked, Hyperspectral Search, NETGuard Mobilizes, Mobile Livecasting, Webcasting Concerts, Emergency Communications Applications, Emergency Communications SimDay, Minneapolis Bridge Collapse & Emergency Communications, The Kim Search, Mountain Rescue UAVs, E911 & Triangulation, Cellular Triangulation, Body of James Kim Found, The Infinite Zoom, Microsoft’s 3D Photo Flyby, Microsoft’s Amazing Virtual Earth, Microsoft Buys Vexcel, Mapping Goes Live, Geocoding Content & Telemetry, HDTV from Aircraft, Panoramic Video, Scanners 3D, Vessel Monitoring, Border Surveillence, Tracking Hazardous Materials — & The Iditarod, Polar Flight Telemetry, Antartic Communications, Gigapixel Imaging, Virtual Earth Adds Cities and Panoramic EventCam.
Looking for a smartphone with integrated Wi-Fi, GPS, EV-DO Revision A, and a slim design?
Palm on Monday unveiled the Palm Treo 800w, a Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone (specs), targeted at business users. The Treo 800w may not have fancy webapps but it has a solid reputation for business users.
It uses Sprint’s higher speed EVDO Rev A. data network, includes Bluetooth 2.0+EDR and stereo Bluetooth and carries a 2 megapixel camera that can also capture video.
Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional Edition lets you download, view, and edit Word and Excel compatible files, then send them off to colleagues. Rehearse PowerPoint presentations on the go. Even review PDF and ZIP files away from your desk.
It has 256MB of built-in storage, with an additional 8GB available through a microSD card. After rebates and discounts, the Treo 800w is available for $249.99 with a two-year contract through Sprint.
According to PC Magazine, the 800w’s design will compete most directly with BlackBerrys, Palm’s own 755p (which uses Palm OS), and with Samsung’s Ace and Blackjack models, though they don’t have Wi-Fi. Palm sees this device mostly being sold into businesses, where IT departments decide which OS they prefer.
Despite the outages and shortages associated with last Friday’s iPhone 3G launch and Thursday’s release of the iPhone 2.0 firmware, Apple says one million iPhone 3G units were sold with 10 million downloads from its new App Store in its first weekend of existence.
“The App Store is a grand slam, with a staggering 10 million applications downloaded in just three days,” Apple chief Steve Jobs said in a release Monday. “Developers have created some extraordinary applications, and the App Store can wirelessly deliver them to every iPhone and iPod touch user instantly.”
C/Net reviews five great free apps for the iPhone and iPod touch:
The FCC will begin field testing prototype TV white-spaces devices this week, notes RCR Wireless News.
Field testing, which is open to the public, will be conducted in accordance with the schedule and at the locations designated by the OET. Details can be found here.
The commission has been conducting lab testing of white-spaces devices over the past 12 months, with results yielding some successes as well as failures. The low-power white-spaces gadgets must sense and avoid digital TV transmissions, as well as avoid interference with wireless microphones and wireless medical telemetry equipment.
The Wireless Innovation Alliance applauded the FCC Office of Engineering Technology’s (OET) announcement.
“Today’s announcement by the FCC affirms what we have known all along, white space technology works, and as a result, the FCC continues to move the process forward,” said Jake Ward, spokesman for the Wireless Innovation Alliance. “Given the extensive information gathered by the FCC as well as the work done by the FCC, we expect the FCC to move forward with their final order immediately after this round of testing.
“NAB has no quarrel with field tests, but based upon multiple failures of unlicensed devices in laboratory testing thus far, we remain highly skeptical that this technology will ever work as advertised,” said Dennis Wharton, executive VP of the National Association of Broadcasters.
According to RCR News, an FCC spokesman said Martin would like to approve white-spaces rules before the end of the year if testing shows it can be done without disruption to other services and products. He said the FCC is considering where field testing in sports and entertainment venues will be conducted, with the objective being to assess the impact on wireless microphones.
Palm today formally announced the Treo 800w smartphone running Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional Edition.
Proxim Wireless, today announced that Stephouse Networks, a Portland, OR based ISP (and the host for DailyWireless), has deployed Proxim equipment to provide the city of Portland with high speed wireless broadband connectivity. Stephouse has deployed a combination of Proxim’s Tsunami MP.11 WiMAX and Proxim’s ORiNOCO AP-4000LR Wi-Fi mesh technology to blanket seven square miles of Portland with wireless broadband coverage.
Currently, Stephouse has covered five square miles of Portland’s downtown area and two square miles of North Portland’s St. Johns area with both Wi-Fi and WiMAX service. Stephouse’s use of Proxim equipment allows the ISP to provide T1, T3 and fiber-grade wireless broadband services to businesses or individuals within the service area.
Utilizing a combination of Proxim’s Tsunami MP.11 WiMAX for backhaul and the ORiNOCO AP-4000LR dual-radio for Wi-Fi access points deployed in mesh mode, Stephouse is able to provide high-performance broadband wireless as a fixed-line replacement for a fraction of the cost.
With the recent cancellation of MetroFi’s city-wide Wi-Fi network, Stephouse’s service offerings provide a higher-performance alternative for Portland residents. Stephouses provide individual users with unlimited Wi-Fi connectivity within the service areas for just $20 per month. For casual use, Stephouse also provides every user one free hour of connectivity per day, up to 10 hours per month.
“As we’ve seen, the free municipal Wi-Fi business model just doesn’t work. But as a local company, we love to give back to our community,” said Tyler Booth, President of Stephouse Networks. “Often times users just need to connect for a few minutes per day – to find a map on their iPhone, to locate a local business, read the news on their lunch break, etc. – so we give everyone one free hour per day, up to 10 hours per month, to do whatever they need to do. And for users who need more than that, we offer a very reasonable monthly rate.”
In addition to Stephouse’s coverage in downtown Portland, it has also deployed Proxim’s WiMAX and Wi-Fi mesh equipment to provide broadband wireless connectivity to the St. John’s area in North Portland. Until now, the cable company has been the only option for broadband service to the residents of St. John’s.
Stephouse also donated free backhaul services to the free WiFi cloud along Mississippi Avenue in North Portland, built and operated by the non-profit PersonalTelco Project.
CEO Tyler Booth told DailyWireless that the company started primarily as a web hosting company with a few Apple Xserve servers in a datacenter. “We found that our customers wanted internet service too, so we began providing dialup, dsl, and T1 service. We began offering wireless services in Portland 2.5-3 years ago,” said Booth.
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