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...
CHINAUnder a new deal, Comverse Technology Inc. will provide short messaging service, cell broadcasting and expanded voice mail to Chinese mobile operator Heilongjiang Mobile Communications Co. Ltd. Comverse will also provide a variety of value-added services, including text messages, mobile banking and location-based services....
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...
BelgiumKPN Mobile will acquire 50 percent of Belgian operator KPN Orange Belgium from France Telecom for US$443.5 million, giving KPN 100-percent ownership. France Telecom had to divest its KPN Orange ownership, which it acquired through its acquisition of Orange plc earlier this year, to...
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....
Openwave Systems Inc. and Geoworks Corp. ended their year-long patent dispute last week with a cross-licensing settlement, ending a fight closely watched by wireless Internet players concerned about possible ramifications for the entire WAP industry.Under the terms of the settlement, Openwave will receive a...
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...
The millennium is off to a good start for Vodafone Group.The U.K.-based carrier began 2000 with a hostile takeover of Mannesmann, parent of its rival Orange, and continued with a spending spree for third-generation (3G) licenses across Europe. The year also marked the finalization...
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...
BOSTON-In 2000, the wireless industry saw WAP browsers proliferate, wireless terminals become exciting again and 2.5 and third-generation technologies become more focused, analyst firm The Yankee Group said. But 2001 is expected to bring about even more opportunities for wireless technology, although not as...
It's been an interesting year. To fully understand my meaning here, you must understand what I mean by interesting. To some, it means merely of interest. But once in awhile, a doctor or friend will say the word "interesting" in a tone that gives...
A company conducting a study on wireless advertising has released preliminary findings suggesting consumers will welcome targeted advertisements sent to wireless devices.The company, SkyGo Inc., went further by suggesting wireless advertising may act as a catalyst for wireless Internet adoption in general.The company is...
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...
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...
WASHINGTON-2001: A Space Odyssey? Perhaps if you're working on the international space station or developing a Star Wars defense. But for wireless, it will be a year the industry comes back to earth and gets back to basics as carriers, manufacturers, dot-coms, government policy-makers and...
Chris Gent has had quite a year.For the chief executive of Vodafone Group plc, 2000 began with a hostile takeover of Mannesmann AG, parent of its rival Orange plc, and continued with a spending spree for third-generation licenses across Europe. The year also marked...
At its annual PalmSource conference for developers, Palm Inc. further embraced the ongoing wireless enablement of its devices by incorporating a broad array of wireless-related hardware and software innovations designed for its products.Palm Chief Executive Officer Carl Yankowski illustrated his vision for the company,...
WASHINGTON-The Federal Trade Commission last week began looking into the various consumer questions-including privacy-and emerging technologies of the wireless Web by holding a day-and-a-half workshop."If people can be located every time they use wireless technology, is that a good thing?" asked FTC Chairman Robert...
Even more nascent than the wireless Internet industry, the wireless multimedia industry is expected to represent a good portion of next-generation wireless Internet services.PacketVideo Corp.-which develops wireless streaming video and audio solutions-last week introduced a showcase of streaming video media applications available on today's...
HELSINKI-Nokia Corp. will ship with its suite of mobile developer tools the Lutris Enhydra 3.5 Java/XML Open Source application server, including the Nokia WAP phone emulator, WAP gateway and WAP toolkit, Nokia and Lutris Technologies Inc. announc-ed.Developers will have complete access to Nokia WAP...
AnywhereYouGo.com, an online community Web site dedicated to wireless application developers with physical testing labs in the United Kingdom and the United States, may not make it to its first anniversary.The wireless developer organization that launched at the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Associations Wireless...
Motorola Inc. and Oracle Corp. teamed last week to create a UNIX-based e-business platform designed for carriers, Internet service providers, enterprise customers and application vendors.The deal is the second phase of their partnership, following Motorola's adoption of Oracle's OracleMobile.com server technology into the Aspira...
BOULDER, Colo.-Siemens AG selected SignalSoft Corp.'s location technology to enhance its deployment of WAP gateways.The software will allow mobile network operators to combine the location of their customers with Internet content, which will allow them to offer a range of data services, the companies...
