Wireless Blog

For PlayStation 3 fans who want to do more than mash buttons when playing games on the console, Sony Corp.

T-Mobile has announced the launch of their AWS (1.7/2.1 GHz) 3G Network in New York as well as Las Vegas, Houston and Austin. Now Cellphone Signal says they have the inside line on the other AWS launches T-Moble is planning this year.

According to Cellphone Signal, T-Mobile will launch AWS-based HSPA in:

• Baltimore - Aug 18th
• Houston – Aug 19th
• Minneapolis – Aug 20th
• San Diego – Sept 15th
• Los Angeles – Sept 16th
• Phoenix – Sept 16th
• Sacramento – Sept 17th
• Portland – Sept 18th
• Seattle – Sept 23rd
• San Francisco – Sept 24th

Their crib sheet also lists the following markets scheduled to launch in 2008:

• Atlanta
• Birmingham
• Chicago
• Dallas
• Denver
• Detroit
• Kansas City
• Memphis
• Miami
• New England
• Orlando
• Philadelphia
• Tampa
• Washington, D.C.

Berkeley Varitronics says their new YellowFin Mobile WiMAX analyzer is the world’s first truly portable calibrated, demodulating WiMAX test receiver.

The handheld unit utilizes the Samsung Q1 Ultra tablet UMPC as an interface in conjunction with Berkeley’s precision receiver technology for complete spectrum analysis as well as WiMAX packet demodulation. The receiver sweeps the 2.0 - 5.9 GHz spectrums to within +1.5 dB accuracy. RF engineers can see the whole wireless network picture.

Features include power triggers, peak hold/search, markers, multiple waveform traces and more. The optional DF (Direction Finding) Antenna allows engineers to pinpoint sources of WiMAX interference, rogue base stations and even nearby hackers. An internal 12-channel/satellite GPS receiver allows for geo-coded site surveys using optional mapping software.

Several weeks ago, I reported that Delta Airlines was gearing up to offer the Aircell Gogo inflight Internet service, but it is American Airlines who beat them to the first operational service.

Intel has introduced the Intel Media Processor CE 3100, the first in a new family of purpose-built System on Chips (SoCs) for Consumer Electronics devices. The CE 3100 has been developed for Internet-connected consumer electronics (CE) products such as optical media players, connected CE devices, advanced cable set top boxes and digital TVs.

Intel and Yahoo previewed related CE devices that blends the openness of the Web with the simplicity and entertainment strengths of the TV. The application framework is called the Widget Channel. It introduces a new way to enjoy Web content while watching TV programs, says Intel.

Yahoo acquired software “widget” engine Konfabulator to spur third-party developers to devise new applications. Konfabulator is a JavaScript runtime engine that lets people run very small applications, or widgets, on either Windows or Macintosh systems (video). The Widget Channel is powered by the Yahoo! Widget Engine and is optimized to use the performance and the capabilities of Intel Media Processor CE 3100.

The Intel Media Processor CE 3100 is scheduled to ship to CE manufacturers, including Samsung and Toshiba next month. It pairs a powerful IA processor core with multi-stream video decoding and processing hardware and adds a 3-channel 800 MHz DDR2 memory controller, dedicated multi-channel dual audio DSPs, a powerful 3-D graphics engine and supports multiple peripherals, including USB 2.0 and PCI Express.

A new ABI Research study explores vendors’ efforts to integrate Web-based technologies for living room entertainment. ABI says the consumer-usable living room browser market today is led by Opera and ACCESS, while other companies such as OpenTV, Oregan Networks and ANT Software are active in selling their browser products. Nokia-owned Trolltech recently integrated Webkit into its “Qt” platform to allow CE developers to create mixed Web and native user interfaces.

Struggling device-maker Palm Inc. introduced its new Windows Mobile-based, touch-screen Treo Pro Wednesday. The business-targeted smartphone will be released in Europe and Australia, although an unlocked version will be available directly from Palm in the United States and Asia Pacific, as well as in some parts of Europe.

The Sunnyvale, California-based company called the sleek new device an "effortlessly usable smartphone for businesses that want to simplify their IT infrastructures and lower costs," as well as for users looking for a way to manage their professional and personal lives.

Full QWERTY Keyboard, Removable Battery

The Pro features Palm shortcuts integrated with Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, and offers e-mail and Wi-Fi, as well as GPS for maps, turn-by-turn directions and point-of-interest searches. In Europe, the Pro is available from Vodafone and O2, and from Telstra in Australia.

Palm President and CEO Ed Colligan said that "businesses want the control and savings that Windows Mobile affords," in the kind of "innovative and elegant packages that keep their users happy."

The company is promoting the ability for IT departments to maintain and secure their mobile workforce infrastructure with the Treo Pro, utilizing the integration of Palm and Windows Mobile 6.1. This includes Microsoft Direct Push technology, offering a direct connection to Exchange Server 2003 SP2 or 2007 for e-mail, contacts and calendars, as well as Microsoft System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008.

The company is also emphasizing the thousands of Windows Mobile applications, and the operating system's "familiar Windows experience" of browsing the Web with Internet Explorer Mobile; using Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files; and opening PDFs or ZIP files.

In addition, the Pro offers a high-resolution color touch screen, a full QWERTY keyboard, and a removable battery that can handle up to five hours of talk time.

'Strong Set of Features'

For easy use, there is one-touch...

American Airlines has announced the availability of Wi-Fi Internet service aboard three of its domestic routes. Customers aboard American Airlines flights from New York to Los Angeles, New York to San Francisco and New York to Miami can access the Internet for $12.95 per flight on its 767-200 airplanes via the service, called Gogo.

According to AA officials, beta testing in May and early August with real customers on cross-country flights showed that the service would be well received.

John Tiliacos, managing director of onboard products at American Airlines, said, "During dress rehearsals, customers were enthusiastic. Our business customers value it, and it is something they have told us they want." Once the selected AA flights reach the 10,000-foot electronics-clear altitude, customers can boot up their laptops and sign on to the Wi-Fi service with a one-time charge to a credit card. Users can access IM and virtually any Web site, although VoIP applications will be blocked. Otherwise, the Web experience should be the same as on the ground, according to the company.

When asked when the initial service would be expanded to other flights and routes, Tiliacos said, "We're going to run the service for a few months, evaluate how it performs, then make a determination."

AA Is Aircell Gogo Powered

The American Airlines Internet experience is powered by Itasca, Illinois-based Aircell Inc. The Gogo technology is similar in nature to traditional cell-phone coverage, with land-based Aircell towers carrying signals throughout the continental United States. "We have 92 cells, and cover border to border, coast to coast," said Fran Phillips, senior vice president of airline solutions at Aircell. "We are looking to expand coverage into Mexico and Canada next year, as well."

The infrastructure for retrofitting existing airplanes for Internet service is minimal, Tiliacos explained. "There's some lightweight network...

In a move that could help it avoid an iPhone 3G-like software drama, Google wants bug hunters to test its Android mobile platform. On Monday, the Android Security Team posted a message to introduce itself to the security research and vulnerability communities.

Android is Google's Linux-based mobile development platform, which also contains a collection of standard applications that can be installed on a mobile device.

"As you may expect, building and maintaining a secure mobile platform is a difficult task," the team wrote. "While we have found and fixed many of our own bugs as well as flaws in other open-source projects, we realize that the discovery of additional security issues in a system this large and complex is inevitable."

An Open Invitation

The team invited the security community to collaborate on what amounts to a debugging effort. Bug hunters can report a bug in Android or one of its components by e-mailing security at android.com. Google promised to respond to bug report with requests for more information, if needed, and to keep bug reporters informed of progress in closing the issue.

"We do appreciate and encourage responsible disclosure, especially since Android will be deployed on many different devices that will require a large amount of coordination to patch," the team wrote. "Help from security researchers in the form of usable bug reports and responsible time lines will greatly assist us in securing the ecosystem of Android devices as quickly as possible. Our vulnerability bulletins will credit responsible reporters of any flaws."

Google said it will release more details of the security features in the Android platform over the next several months, as well as developer documentation and guidance on how to use these features in Android applications.

Old-Fashioned Beta Testing

Michael Gartenberg, vice president of mobile strategy for Jupitermedia, said there's nothing particularly innovative about what Google is...

Sony has announced a new version of its Playstation Portable handheld game console that can be used as a telephone, reports Reuters. It will go on sale in Europe and the United States in mid-October.

The Playstation Portable 3000 will have a built-in microphone and a new screen with more colors and better suited for use outdoors, Sony said at a video games convention in Leipzig, Germany on Wednesday. The PSP already supports the software program Skype, which enables users to make free telephone calls over the internet, but the new PSP, with built-in microphone, will make the process easier, Sony says.

Gamers will be able to purchase the 3000 model on October 14 for $169, as a stand alone system, or as a $199 bundle with a 4GB memory card, says GamePro. “We believe that this will establish the PSP as a viable communication device,” said David Reeves, president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe.

Sony also said it would launch a version of its flagship Playstation 3 console with a 160 gigabyte hard drive, to be available to North America this November for $499.99. The “new” $399.99, 80GB version is now shipping to retailers, in the United States.

Music videos streamed over the internet would soon be available free to the PS3, while a music and video download service modelled on its U.S. version should be available across Europe by the third quarter of 2009, the company added.

Today Palm officially announced the Treo Pro. It will run Windows Mobile 6.1, and will include 802.11b/g Wi-Fi -- controlled by a dedicated button -- and integrated GPS.