Top players in both the vendor and carrier space are pitching in to advance GAIT-GSM ANSI Interoperability Team-a new network standard that fuses TDMA and GSM technologies to enhance roaming, preserve TDMA and serve as an interim solution in the sojourn to the third-generation...
As the economy slackens and competition revs up, the handset market may set the stage for a battle between big names and their smaller counterparts.Some analysts are doffing their hats to the bigger players-Nokia Corp., Motorola Inc. and Ericsson Inc.-dwarfing the chances of second-...
The big names walked into the building just as Elvis decided to leave.In spite of recent gloomy economic signals, Sony Electronics Inc., Panasonic Telecommunications Systems Co., Cisco Systems Inc. and Siemens AG believe they can leverage their resources and successful histories in other areas...
LAS VEGAS-The world's leading mobile-phone makers launched an extensive array of new devices supporting a range of new technology last week, including GPRS, Bluetooth and full-color displays-moves the companies hope will garner more customers and counteract sluggish phone sales.Nokia Corp., Motorola Inc., L.M. Ericsson...
TOKYO-Matsushita Communications Industrial, the leading cellular vendor in Japan, is putting the final touches on its new third-generation (3G) mobile terminals for NTT DoCoMo. NTT DoCoMo, Japan's leading mobile carrier, is scheduled to launch its 3G services by the end of May, earlier than...
Wireless Web site enabler 2Roam Inc. announced several new deals last week, one of which the company hopes will propel it into new and more profitable markets in the Asia-Pacific and European regions."In the last 90 days, 2Roam has really expanded its business," said...
With AT&T Wireless Services Inc. behind it, Panasonic Telecommunications Systems Co. hopes to rise out of the shadows of the U.S. market and push its weight around with two new lightweight multi-network wireless phones.The products, ProMax and DuraMax, mark Panasonic's entry into the U.S....
SINGAPORE-Four years after it was first introduced in Japan, PHS technology finally has made some headway in the international telecommunications arena. Taiwanese paging operator First International Telecom (Fitel) recently was awarded a license to operate PHS service in Taiwan.Ching-Chich Lin, director of the radiowave...
NEW YORK-The Land of the Rising Sun has emerged as the place to be for investors interested in grabbing onto incipient wireless telecommunications trends, said a managing director of Whitney & Co., the oldest American venture-capital firm.Venture-capital companies based in Japan have become more...
The evolution of the Symbian initiative advanced last week as the company held its first developers conference in London, supporting the release of version 6.0 of its open software platform for next-generation wireless Internet-enabled devices, and made several other significant announcements.In addition to making...
TOKYO-Matsushita Communication Industrial announced a new company in the Czech Republic to manufacture mobile phones and car audio equipment. The company will begin production in October 2001.Matsushita, which markets mobile phones under the Panasonic brand name, said the production capacity of the new company...
In the effort to alter consumers' perceptions of wireless phones, Sprint PCS turned up the volume last week with the introduction of an online music service offered in conjunction with the first combination MP3 player/wireless phone available in the United States.The introduction of the...
TOKYO-A three-hour bus ride from Tokyo will get you to Kakegawa, the leading production area of two popular Japanese items: green tea (ocha) and Panasonic wireless phones. But just like green tea, Panasonic's wireless phones have not achieved the same level of success in the...
TOKYO-Matsushita Electric Industrial, which manufactures cell phones under the Panasonic brand name, is discussing an alliance on third-generation mobile phones with European mobile carriers, according to a report in the Financial Times.The company did not name potential partners, but the negotiations are part of...
WASHINGTON-In addition to new litigation alleging that mobile phones cause brain cancer, the wireless industry also faces possible Supreme Court litigation over government exposure standards and a class-action lawsuit in New Orleans that claims manufacturers failed to take steps to minimize consumer exposure to...
PARIS-Nortel Networks introduced a wireless data initiative and noted its commitment to the European market here last week. Included in the announcements was a partnership with Hewlett-Packard Co. to integrate Nortel's wireless data technology into HP's wireless hardware.Nortel is looking to capitalize on the...
TektronixTektronix Inc. launched a new Global System for Mobile communications cell analysis product, the Cell Analyzer, which combines the key functions of the Actix Abis Analyzer with Tektronix's K1205 Signaling Protocol Analyzer. Available as an add-on software package for the K1205, the new analyzer...
NEW YORK-Sony Corp. has licensed the Texas Instruments Open Multimedia Application processing engine and Symbian's EPOC software platform for Sony's next generation of wireless handsets.Sony selected the two technologies as part of an "ongoing effort to implement Memory Stick storage and data exchange into...
VANCOUVER, British Columbia-Sierra Wireless SRL, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sierra Wireless Inc., entered into a joint development agreement with Matsushita Electronic Components Co. Ltd. and a supply agreement with Panasonic Canada Inc.The agreement with Matsushita calls for both companies to work together to...
VANCOUVER, British Columbia-Sierra Wireless Inc. announced its subsidiary Sierra Wireless SRL has agreed to help integrate radio components from Matsushita Electronic Components Co. Ltd. into its wireless data products. In return, Matsushita will manufacture products in Japan for Sierra Wireless and supply them through...
The focus on the mobile industry has been enormous during the last year. Device vendors, service providers, application developers, infrastructure vendors and content providers have all been jostling to position themselves in the new value chain. Like the PC industry, control over the technology...
Some confusion exists in the wireless industry over whether mobile-phone-component shortages are affecting the handset supply in the United States.Major handset suppliers say they aren't struggling with component shortages, but one major carrier said its lower subscriber additions in the third quarter were caused...
PARIS-France Telecom Mobiles and Nortel Networks announced France's first trial of a third-generation mobile communications network based on proposed standards for Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service."By staging this trial in France, France Telecom Mobiles will gain expertise on the 3G air interface and perform some...
MONTREAL-The GSM Alliance and Nortel Networks announced they completed North America's first third-generation wireless telephone call using a wideband Code Division Multiple Access trial network under live conditions.The trial is one the GSM Alliance announced last year would take place in a MicroCell Telecommunications...
