Like the harmony of opposites, caution and adventure characterize the journey to the wide-scale rollout of GPRS. Vendors are playing starry-eyed idealists while operators are avoiding a possible precipice on board the chief migration vehicle: handsets.In view of their contrasting attitudes, operators' low blood pressure...
KANSAS CITY, Mo.-More than 1 million wireless Internet customers have signed up for Sprint PCS' Wireless Web offering since it was launched in September 1999, according to the company.Since its inception, Sprint said that its wireless Web service has expanded to provide Internet content...
NEW YORK-To avoid falling into "microcap hell," companies play a "gorilla game" of amassing size, but going public may not be the best way to get there, said Eric Gebaide, a principal of Broadview, Fort Lee, N.J.Major technology market indexes are skewed because of...
Inspired by the growing consumer demand for high-speed data services and the spotty availability of such wireline connections, Loop Technologies teamed with Cisco Systems Inc., adopted a new name and redirected its focus toward providing wireless broadband access to small and medium-sized businesses across...
The news of WAP's demise has been greatly exaggerated, according to the Wireless Application Protocol Forum.The WAP Forum last week struck back against a report released by the Nielsen Norman Consulting Group downplaying the advantages of the wireless Internet technology. The report stated WAP...
REDWOOD CITY, Calif.-RealName Corp. and VoiceStream Wireless Corp. plan to bring wireless keyboard navigation for the wireless Web to VoiceStream's mobile Internet service, WebStream.The intuitive navigation system will allow subscribers to use company, brand and product names instead of URLs to access content on...
Starbucks customers across North America can enjoy their coffee simultaneously with high-speed wireless Internet access, thanks to an agreement between Microsoft and Starbucks Coffee Co. The contract, which will use MobileStar Network Corp.'s wireless broadband network, will allow Starbucks customers to access broadband content...
SCHAUMBURG, Ill.- Motorola Inc. is ditching its troublesome Communications Enterprise unit and streamlining its operations, creating three new units and promoting executives to head each unit in the company.Under the new structure, the Communications Enterprise unit, which formerly included the Personal Communications sector, is...
NEW DELHI, India-Several leading GSM operators in the Asian region have announced plans for migration to 2.5-generation (2.5G) services during 2001. Many of them hope to roll out commercial General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) services during the year, but mass expansion of the new...
PDA technologyBlue ImpactBlue Impact, a partner of CellPoint, introduced a combined GSM/global positioning system (GPS) module for the Handspring Visor called Tellmen. The Tellmen module is compatible with CellPoint's location platform and services, allowing the Visor to access all CellPoint location services offered by...
MELBOURNE, Australia-The Australian Communications Authority (ACA) will hold the keenly awaited auction of third-generation (3G) spectrum in the 2 GHz radio-frequency band in early March.The new 3G mobile services are expected to combine popular communications forms, such as mobile phones, the Internet and computers,...
OXFORD, United Kingdom-Despite the promotional efforts of developers and mobile operators, the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) was roundly condemned by industry observers as being "unfit for purpose" during most of last year. The technology suffered from all the ills associated with pushing an unstable...
With a population hungry for services, Latin America is challenging telecom and Internet companies to tap their imaginative resources to provide the devices, killer applications, high-speed networks and customized content, which will be the pathway to a robust wireless Internet industry there in the...
TOKYO-NTT DoCoMo Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co. announced a joint research effort aimed at improving multimedia delivery and network applications over fourth-generation wireless broadband networks. The companies are calling their 4G multimedia architecture Moto-Media.The technology is expected to enable high-performance streaming of multimedia content to...
NEW YORK-Before mobile commerce can reach the goal of providing a value-added revenue stream for wireless carriers, it must fulfill its potential as a value-added service for their customers."Today m-commerce is a subset of e-commerce, and it's having problems. It's not taking off. You've...
NEW YORK-Savos Inc., New York, launched commercially its "Internet audio technology showcase" to provide streaming audio services to wireless carriers, application service providers and systems integrators.The company has developed its trademarked MediaCrossbar technology, which functions on existing wireless networks. Through its Web or WAP...
Leap Wireless International Inc. announced it bought NeoPoint Inc.'s myAladdin.com location-based content aggregation portal and wireless information technology.Leap said it will extend the service to its Cricket customers and others in the first half of the year. Financial details of the transaction were not...
While content may remain king, many feel content is only as good as the user interface to it.One company hoping to ease the user interface frustration for both wireline and wireless Internet users is Yodlee Inc., an account aggregation service provider that allows users...
BEIJING-China's mobile communications market made big strides forward during 2000. The number of GSM subscribers leapt to more than 70 million, with a penetration rate of 5.5 percent.China Unicom debuted on the stock market and reconfirmed its intention to build out a CDMA network....
WOBURN, Mass.-Prepaid service provider Boston Communications Group Inc. and Cincinnati Bell Wireless announced their plans to launch a mobile commerce trial program for online shopping.The companies will test whether Cincinnati Bell's prepaid service will allow subscribers to make purchases through proprietary content added to...
Multiplier IndustriesMultiplier Industries Corp. released its new line of rechargeable replacement batteries for Motorola radios. The line, which features polycarbonate plastic material with greater impact strength, includes the 1,400 mAh capacity M9012; the 1,700 mAh capacity M9012C; the 1,600 mAh capacity M9009; the 2,100...
OWING MILLS, Md.-Aether Systems Inc. announced it will acquire RTS wireless Inc, a developer of software systems connecting the Internet to wireless devices. Specifically, RTS builds the interface software between computer systems, wireless networks and end-user devices.RTS' products include wireless messaging services such as...
REDMOND, Wash.-AT&T Wireless Services Inc. introduced a "wireless travel concierge" portfolio to its Digital PocketNet wireless Internet service via partnerships with several companies and content providers.Alaska Airlines, Biztravel.com, Delta Airline, Qsent, Trip.com and United Airlines all debuted their travel-related wireless applications on AT&T's PocketNet...
NEW YORK-Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Materials Corp. has established offices here to prepare for a 2001 commercial launch of its SWIFTcomm data platform, which it believes is a low-cost challenger to third-generation wireless services.SWIFTcomm, which stands for Smart Wireless Internet Field Teamwork Communications, will permit error-free...
