Wireless Blog

Trimble introduced today its next generation of durable, lightweight field computing devices with integrated Global Positioning System technology -- the new Trimble Juno SB and Juno SC handhelds.

Nokia advances Ovi with Mail, Maps and Messaging December 2 2008 - 12:58 pm ET Colin Gibbs Nokia Corp.

NexCen Brands announces expansion of Great American Cookies into Canada; master franchise agreement provides for 40 stores over 10 years.

SiBeam, a developer of millimeter wave chipsets and platforms, has received a strategic investment from Panasonic and Samsung for the continued development of SiBeam’s WirelessHD semiconductor products, reports EE Times.

SiBeam’s CMOS chipsets operate in the 60-GHz band and transfer data at up to 4-Gbits per second. They are designed for the streaming of uncompressed and lossless high definition video, audio and data. SiBeam is also a founding member of the WirelessHD Consortium that includes several consumer electronics manufacturers, including both Panasonic and Samsung.

Wireless connections are expected to simplify A/V installations and allow more flexibility in positioning TVs. But there is no consensus among consumer manufacturers on a single standard. The leading contenders are:

• WirelessHD uses 60-GHz transmission. The bandwidth available at 60 GHz allows data transmissions as fast as 4 Gbits/s. The format is backed by lead technology developer SiBeam, along with Intel, LG, Panasonic, NEC, Samsung, Sony and Toshiba.
• Wireless High Definition Interface (WHDI), using 5 GHz. WHDI, developed by Israeli company Amimon, reportedly achieves a data rate as fast as 3 Gbits/s. WiFi 802.11n technology using MIMO can achieve up to 600 mbps, but cannot yield a 3-Gbit/s data rate. For that, Amimon tapped an existing signal-processing technology called joint-source channel coding.
• WiMedia Alliance uses Ultrawideband (UWB) in a band of frequencies from 4.2 to 4.8 GHz or higher. Their Wireless USB standard claims a data rate of 480 Mbits/s and works by compressing and expanding HD video images.

Nokia has announced a new flagship smart phone, the N97, in Barcelona on Tuesday.

The N97 combines a touch screen, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, Wi-Fi, Web-based widgets, GPS, high-speed Internet and even Flash video. The bulky phone houses a powerful ARM11 processor, a 5-megapixel camera with 640 x 480 video recording, 32 Gbytes of on-board memory and a big, 3.5-inch, 640 x 360 touch screen.

The N97 runs a new version of Nokia’s Symbian Series 60 operating system, with a new home screen that incorporates Internet-based widgets. Nokia said it would cost around 550 euros, or about $700, before taxes or carrier subsidies when it launches next year. It will probably be compatible with AT&T Inc.’s high-speed data network in the U.S.

The company also announced a new version of their GPS mapping software that includes 3D landmarks. The new Nokia Maps allows users to plan their journey ahead of time on their PCs and sync the information with their mobile phones.

Nokia hopes to use the N97’s GPS to enhance social networking with what the company calls “social location.” Using the N97’s GPS sensors and compass, the phone will come with software to automatically update a user’s physical location on social-networking sites, the company said in a press release.

The N97 will appear in Europe during the first half of 2009, and it will sell in the U.S. shortly afterwards. But Nokia’s high-end phones have been largely irrelevant in the North American market, observes PC World. Apple, Microsoft, RIM’s Blackberry and now the Android handset by T-Mobile dominate the U.S. smartphone market and can cost only one third as much. Nokia’s most recent offerings, the N85, N96, and E71, were not picked up by any U.S. carriers.

Still, Nokia dominates the world’s mobile phone market. Nokia expects the industry to sell 1.24 billion cell phones this year, down slightly from a previous estimate of 1.26 billion.

Worldwide smartphone sales totaled 32.2 million units in the second quarter of 2008, a 15.7 per cent increase from the second quarter of 2007, according to market researcher Gartner. Smartphones’ share remained stable at 11 per cent. Nokia held the No. 1 position with a 47.5 per cent market share in the second quarter of 2008, a year-over-year growth about half of the market average. Nokia faced increased competition from Apple, HTC and others.

Informa forecasts subscriptions to UMTS/HSPA will number nearly half a billion worldwide by the end of 2009, and will pass the one billion mark in 2012. Currently some 88% use GSM standards while 11% use CDMA. Global mobile penetration will increase to 95 percent by 2013 from 46 percent in 2008, according to a new survey of 34 emerging markets by Tariff Consultancy.

There are 1.5 billion TV sets in the world. 900 million personal computers, desktops and laptops. The internet had 1.3 billion users at the end of 2007. But mobile subscribers have topped 3.5 billion.

RAD Data Communications has unveiled its new Airmux-400 broadband wireless multiplexer, a full-duplex, 50-Mbps multi point-to-point broadband wireless transmission device using license-free 2.3 to 2.5 GHz and 4.9 to 5.9 GHz bands.

RAD’s Airmux multiplexers consist of an outdoor unit and an indoor unit with redundant DC power supplies. The outdoor unit is suitable for mast or wall installation. An optional external antenna guarantees a transmission range of up to 120 kilometers.

Wireless Internet Service Providers (WISPs) can use the Airmux-400 to backhaul their traffic from the point of presence (POP) to the network operation center to achieve higher capacity. The Airmux-400 also provides broadband Ethernet and leased line services to large enterprises and is ideal for networks spanning multiple sites that require transparent LAN connectivity across their campuses.”

RAD says their Hub Site Synchronization (HSS) ensures simultaneous, multi point-to-point data transmission for all collocated radios by eliminating the interference that otherwise occurs when different outdoor units transmit and receive from the same site. HSS, which supports up to 16 collocated units, enables a complex radio environment of mixed services.

The Airmux-400 uses MIMO and OFDM, with data transmitted over the air encrypted using Advanced Encryption System (AES) with a 128-bit encryption key.

RAD says their device adaptively changes the modulation according to air conditions, targeting maximum rate while maintaining link stability. When the link quality is out of limits, the Airmux-400 automatically searches for a clear channel within a pre-selected list of frequencies.

Peplink, a pioneer in Internet link balancing and failover solutions, today announced the release of their new Balance 210 ($995) and Balance 310 ($1295) Internet Multi-WAN Routers. They come with the industry first multi-site Virtual Private Network (VPN) Load Balancing and Failover feature.

Peplink’s Balance routers combine multiple Internet backbones. Advanced failover and load balancing algorithms, allow businesses to easily substitute their existing high-cost dedicated Internet with a combination of low-cost connections.

Peplink’s enterprise-class Internet link balancing has received good reviews for ease of use, stability and affordable pricing.

“Internet link balancing and failover used to be complicated and expensive. Many businesses still rely on a single Internet connection. Whenever there is a service outage, all you could do is to wait and complain. This is not true anymore,” said Keith Chau, General Manager at Peplink. “Customers can now subscribe to Internet services from any provider and combine them easily with our devices, not to mention the cost savings when they change from expensive dedicated Internet to regular DSL or Cable.”

“If one of the Internet services goes down, the system administrator will be notified but other users will not notice a thing.”

Peplink is also shipping firmware 4.6, which provides the industry first Multi-Site VPN Load Balancing. Multi-Site VPN Load Balancing enables businesses to easily connect multiple locations by leveraging multiple low cost Internet connections at each site.

“With business demanding reliable and faster VPN connections across multiple locations for enterprise applications, our advanced VPN Load Balancing and Failover technology will allow this to be done without complex setup”, added Chau. Whereas traditional VPNs will fail when the Internet link gets disconnected, Peplink’s technology creates VPN sessions across multiple Internet connections. Transparent to the users, this technology maintains a reliable VPN by dynamically performing load balancing and failover.

Peplink Balance 210/310 and Firmware 4.6 are immediately available. The VPN Load Balancing and Failover feature is available for 210/310 and other business-class models.

Free broadband for America has inched closer to reality: The plan, after two years of debate, is finally on the calendar for a full vote by the Federal Communications Commission.

Nokia on Tuesday released its N97 smartphone, describing it as "the world's most advanced mobile computer," which will "transform the way people connect to the Internet and each other." Jonas Geust, a Nokia vice president who heads up the N series, called the N97 "the most powerful, multi-sensory mobile computer in existence."

'Social Location'

Certainly the new device from the market leader is stocked full of features, including a full QWERTY keyboard that slides out from under the screen, a large 3.5-inch, 16:9 touch display, and 32 gigabytes of onboard memory, expandable by another 16GB with a microSD card. There's also a five-megapixel camera with high-quality Carl Zeiss optics and video capture that Nokia describes as "DVD quality."

Nokia is touting "social location" features for the phone, or "So-Lo." An integrated A-GPS and an electronic compass help the device figure out where it -- and you -- are. This means the device can update your approved friends with your location.

Avi Greengart, an analyst with industry research firm Current Analysis, agreed that, from an international perspective, the N97 is "rather spectacular." The form factor alone, he noted, with the QWERTY keyboard and a screen that tilts toward the user, is not unique but "exceptional and feels good."

"They really nailed the form factor," he added.

'Drool-Worthy'

And he described the long feature list as definitely "drool-worthy," including a substantial battery, Wi-Fi, 3G, a tested and stable operating system, and other features. The N97 will readily integrate with Nokia's N-gage gaming platform, its Ovi service, and its Music Store. Out of the box, Greengart said, the device is ready for Microsoft Exchange e-mail and, at a suggested retail price of 550 Euros (US$699), it isn't "insanely priced."

But Greengart downplayed Nokia's hype about the N97 being a game-changer. He described So-Lo as a "nice acronym," but,...

Designed for the needs of Internet-savvy consumers, the Nokia N97 combines a large 3.5" touch display with a full QWERTY keyboard, providing an 'always open' window to favorite social networking sites and ...