Wireless Blog

Talk Bluetooth headsets and the two key names in the business are BlueAnt and Aliph.

Applied Signal Technology Inc., which makes signal-processing equipment for military and surveillance applications, said Tuesday its net income doubled in its latest quarter.

Wireless workspace now possible without cables for display, audio, and USB. The WUSB Docking Station design is optimized to support robust audio and video for typical office and Internet applications (via Press Release from WiQuest - August 25, 2008) Allen, Texas - WiQuest Communications, Inc., the worldwide leader in complete WiMedia standard based ultrawideband solutions, today [...]

Google dropped Bluetooth and the GTalkService instant messaging APIs from the set of tools for the first version of the mobile phone OS, Android 1.0, according to the Android Developers Blog .

Phones with Android let users more easily download software from third party developers. But an Android App Store, featuring “open access” software, could steal the revenue from traditional carriers, explains Market Watch

While the T-Mobile Android phone (and T-Mobile’s app store), is currently the hot topic. T-Mobile will use their new spectrum in the AWS band (1.7GHz/2.1 GHz).

But the upcoming 700 Mhz band, and perhaps more importantly Clearwire’s Mobile WiMAX service (using 2.5-2.7GHz) could spell real trouble for the cell companies. It may be the real reason why Verizon and AT&T are trying to kill the $3.4 billion WiMAX joint venture between Sprint, Clearwire, Google, Comcast and Time Warner Cable, speculates Market Watch:

AT&T, the country’s largest wireless carrier in terms of subscribers, says that Sprint and Clearwire haven’t honestly accounted for the amount of spectrum New Clearwire will be able to use to transmit Internet and voice signals.

New Clearwire says it will become home to a broad range of devices, including those running Android. While other operators also have committed publicly about embracing a wider number of devices, they have a history of limiting access to their networks.

Google product manager Larry Alder wrote on a company Web site in May that “Clearwire intends to build and maintain a network that will embrace important openness features,” adding that “the new network will provide wireless consumers with real choices for the software applications, content and handsets that they desire.”

Analysts say AT&T’s bid stands little chance of scuttling the asset merger, but they warn that it could delay New Clearwire’s launch or result in a paring of its spectrum assets.

Clearwire expects to launch the new network in Portland, Ore., before the end of the year, Clearwire’s Johnston said. “But that’s contingent on the timely close of the Sprint [merger] and if we choose to secure interim financing,” the spokeswoman commented.

Meanwhile, USTelematics who supplies connected-car technology, announced an agreement today with American Wireless, one of the largest wireless agents in the U.S., to provide WiMax service in automobiles equipped with USTelematics’ Voyager Mobile IPTV.

Howard Leventhal, CEO of USTelematics said, “Empowering live real broadband TV in the car is a unique capability of WiMax. We expect that our agreement with American Wireless to provide Clearwire service within Voyager will accelerate deployment of WiMax nationwide.”

In a move to set itself apart from the flood of Bluetooth headsets on the market, BlueAnt Wireless on Tuesday introduced the BlueAnt V1 headset.

The BlueAnt V1 is the only fully voice-controlled Bluetooth headset. The headset is powered by Sensory Inc.'s BlueGenie Voice Interface and BlueAnt's voice-isolation technology. The headset aims to change the way consumers interact with technology by providing a new spin on hands-free calling. The device retails for $130.

"The intuitive voice interface not only appeals to technology power users, but also first-time Bluetooth headset users looking for a simple yet effective hands-free solution," said Taisen Maddern, BlueAnt's CEO.

The Smartphone's Companion

The new headset taps Sensory's BlueGenie Voice Interface technology to let users control their headset with voice commands rather than pressing multiple buttons or even looking at the phone. Other headsets do support voice-dial capabilities through a mobile phone's voice features, but the BlueAnt device embeds voice technology into the headset itself rather than relying on the handset's functionality.

In addition to voice-dial capabilities, the V1 also lets users control all headset features such as pairing, volume and connection status by voice command. For example, the user would issue commands such as, "Pair Me," "Redial," "Call Back," "Answer/Ignore Call," and "Call GOOG-411."

Users who aren't sure what commands the voice-activated headset will respond to can ask the question: "What can I say?" and the headset will verbally list all features available on the device. Users new to voice technology or to Bluetooth headsets can also say "teach me," and the device will talk users through its functions.

"The BlueAnt product is very nice. In a market that's quickly becoming commoditized, it's difficult for Bluetooth headset manufacturers to distinguish themselves," said Michael Gartenberg, vice president of Mobile Research for Jupiter Research. "Some, like the Jawbone, have tried to set themselves...

Adobe Systems has announced major updates to its Photoshop Elements suite of video- and photo-editing software, including online sharing and mobile-phone options. In beta now, the software is expected to be on retail shelves in early October.

Photoshop Premiere Elements 7 adds significant features to video editing, while Photoshop Elements 7 incorporates major enhancements to the photo-editing program. Mobile features cover only a limited number of phones.

Many Enhancements

Have too many grumpy-looking locals in the background of your shot of the Eiffel Tower? Elements 7 promises you can "scrub" unwanted elements from pictures with its new Scene Cleaner feature. Quick Fix tools whiten teeth, enhance colors, and soften details, among other things. A powerful new Smart Brush allows users to assign repetitive tasks to the brush tool, then use it on multiple sections of a photo, like removing wrinkles.

The Premiere video suite gained a few IQ points with a new analysis mode that scans video files for picture quality, number of faces and sound levels, and applies Smart Tags as placeholders for what the software believes are the best clips. If you agree, you can just click a button to assemble a finished movie.

InstantMovie is a quick way to assemble a themed video. Dragging and dropping clips into a theme, such as Birthday, will add appropriate music, transitions and graphics. Green-screen technology has a Videomerge feature to superimpose you and the family going for a stroll on the moon, for example. Version 7 now outputs to DVD, Blu-ray and the AVCHD high-definition tapeless file format, and it supports instant uploads to phones and YouTube accounts.

Video and Photos to Go

To compete with online sites such as Flickr, Adobe announced an enhanced online service for Photoshop Elements customers called Photoshop.com. A basic subscription with 5GB of storage is available free for storing and...

Perhaps it was the resounding howls of pain from AT&T international business travelers when they opened their monthly 3G phone bills, or a fit of corporate generosity, but AT&T unveiled new international roaming data plans on Tuesday. While still pricey, they cut the cost of iPhone Web surfing overseas a great deal over previous rates. The new rates to into effect as of Wednesday, for the asking.

Package Cuts Rates Significantly

AT&T's new data-roaming rates come not a billable minute too soon for some customers. Past rates for roaming came in at roughly $40 for 2MB of data -- not hard to do when you hit YouTube or a Facebook photo gallery.

"AT&T has worked diligently to provide affordable options for international roaming because the feature-rich mobile experience of [the] iPhone is indispensable to users," said Bill Hague, AT&T wireless operations international executive vice president. "With these new international data plans, iPhone users can access more data in more countries for less cost."

Less cost equates to either $119 or $199 per month. The $119 plan gets you 100MB of data, while the $199 plan doubles your data to 200MB. The per-month packages can be added and deleted at will, with no penalty, giving international callers a great pay-as-you-travel option when planning overseas trips.

To that end, AT&T also announced a travel site (www.wireless.att.com/travelguide) to help customers decide on rate plans according to their itinerary. The roaming-rate packages cover more than 67 countries worldwide, including Japan and South Korea. Countries off the rate-plan list -- including Venezuela and the United Arab Emirates -- are charged at the standard $0.0195/KB rate. M

Asked if AT&T intends to add to the list of countries covered on the new data-plan list, Jenny Parker, spokesperson at AT&T, said, "We're always looking to find ways to...

Nvidia Corp., a 5,000-employee company known for its graphics processing units, is gearing up for battle against giant chipmaker Intel. During the first day of the Nvision 2008 conference Monday, Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsuan Huang said his Santa Clara, Calif.-based company plans to focus on the smartphone market.

He added that he expects smartphones to become the next personal computer and noted that today's smartphones are focused on the phone first and computing second. He said it should be the opposite.

A Fight Between Mobile Chips

On one side of the ring is Nvidia's Tegra, a graphics system on a chip. In the other corner is Intel's Atom, the smallest mobile-device processor.

Bill Henry, general manager of Nvidia's mobile Internet devices division, said Tegra, which has one-tenth the power consumption of the Atom, is at the heart of an experience that gives users the better battery life of a cell phone, the graphical environment of a computer, and Internet browsing capabilities.

Nvidia has been working with Taiwan-based Via Technologies, maker of the Nano central-processing unit, on other products that are notebook-focused.

Asked if Nvidia plans to partner with Via in the smartphone market, Henry said, "We have a solution all our own and don't need other components." From a smartphone perspective, he said, the Tegra has everything it needs.

Henry added that he sees a lot of opportunity in mobile Internet devices, calling Tegra a big move forward in computing.

"One of the demos we did (while in Taipei, Taiwan), is compare our Tegra that uses one watt versus the Atom-based Netbook that was using over 13 watts," Henry said from the Nvision 2008 floor. "When you are trying to make something mobile, you have to make things small. Everything is integrated into one chip."

With Intel's chip there are different components doing different jobs, according...

Bluetooth wireless headsets for mobile phones are puzzling: We're supposed to control them with couple of unmarked buttons and get feedback from a single indicator light.