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Rumour Mill: Sept 23rd for T-Mobile Android launch

Paul Rasmussen — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 11:20:22 -0400

T-mobile is expected to announce an Android-based device later this month to coincide with a Google Developers Day planned for 23^rd September in Germany. Insiders claim the launch has been dragged forward by around 30 days to blunt Apple's 3G iPhone success in the lead up to the Christmas sales period.

Well-founded speculation points to the HTC Dream being the likely handset to support the Android operating system, although this rush to market would seem to be the reason behind Google dropping support for Bluetooth and Gtalk, an instant messaging service. Regardless, the smartphone is currently slated to support a wide variety of connectivity technologies, including GSM/EDGE, CDMA, EV-DO, UMTS and WiFi.

For more on this story:
- go to ITPro Portal and Register Hardware

Related articles:
Google names Android Developer Challenge winners. Google story
T-Mobile US will launch an Android phone when it debuts 3G. T-Mobile US story

Rumour Mill: Will Google finance French WiMAX deployment?

Paul Rasmussen — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 12:03:24 -0400

Strenuous denials have come from all those said to be involved in deploying a nationwide WiMAX network in France. The suggested joint venture, which would involve funding from Google, was reported by the French daily Les Echos to include the ISP Free, a unit of Iliad, and Bollore Group's Bollore Telecom. While the companies mentioned--Intel Capital was also included in the Les Echo article--have refuted any suggestion of discussions or talks, Free is the sole holder of a national licence for WiMAX and Bollore Telecom holds 20 regional licences for the service. A nationwide network in France is estimated to require €1 billion investment and would need the assistance of technology providers and wealthy backers--roles that Intel Capital and Google could, and might be very eager to, fulfil.

For more on this story:
- go to Forbes

Related stories:
Europe's first mobile WiMAX network goes live. Mobile WiMAX story
Clearwire eyes European WiMAX partnerships. Clearwire WiMAX story

Symbian goes open source-Nokia takes fight to Microsoft, Apple and Google

Paul Rasmussen — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 14:27:08 -0400

'One of the biggest contributions to an open community ever made,' was how Nokia's CEO, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, positioned the company's decision to buy out the other investors for €264 million and make the Symbian operating system open source. While this all sounds like a grand and worthy gesture, Nokia's strategy is to increase the pressure on Microsoft, Apple and Google over who will win the battle for dominance of the smartphone operating system market.

The company plans to launch the non-profit Symbian Foundation, combining several different operating systems including Symbian OS, UIQ, MOAP and S60 and making the whole system open source, so that developers can use the technology for free. This model is not new having been adopted by the computer industry for many years. Perhaps of greater interest is the involvement of AT&T, DoCoMo and Vodafone in the new Symbian Foundation, along with the predictable names of Samsung, Sony Ericsson, STMicroelectronics and Texas Instruments--with Qualcomm being noticeably absent.

Geoff Blaber of industry watcher CCS Insight commented that Nokia's move was a shrewd response to growing threats from other providers of mobile phone software. "We estimate Nokia paid out more than US$250M in Symbian licence fees last year, so it makes commercial sense to buy Symbian for about US$410M, rather than keep paying what is effectively a subsidy to the other shareholders."

But this announcement does raise questions:

- With Nokia now controlling Symbian, how open can the system really be?

- Can Symbian keep pace with or overtake the iPhone's user interface?

- Will Nokia now ignore Linux, or does it have a plan to use this alternative open platform for its high-end multimedia devices?

- Will the Symbian Foundation (cumbersome committee?) be able to react in a timely manner to whatever the competition might offer?

For more on this story:
- go to Guardian and Telegraph

Related stories:
Nokia to acquire Symbian and open software platform. Nokia/Symbian story
Symbian licenses Scalado imaging software. Symbian story
Android is not delayed. But who cares if it is? Android story

ALSO NOTED: BT predicts the death of text; Low price 3G router for 3G mobile broadband; and much more...

Thu, 29 May 2008 06:59:50 -0400

> BT predicts the death of text. article

> Low price 3G router for mobile broadband. article

And finally... Nokia views Google's Android with skepticism. article

Nokia denies shift towards Linux handsets

Thu, 22 May 2008 06:59:55 -0400

Reports that Nokia was planning to use Linux as a platform for its handset have been slapped down by its PR officials. This strategic shift--carried by many leading news organisations--that Nokia was to focus on Linux came from Rick Simonson, the company's financial director, who said that Nokia was 'well on the way' towards using Linux on handsets, and prompted widespread speculation about a tie-up with Google's Android platform.

However, this statement from the senior Nokia executive was labeled as no more than a confusion over what constitutes a mobile phone. The PR department hurried out a release stating that Nokia already uses Linux on its internet tablet class of devices, exemplified by the Nokia N810, and is planning to expand that class into more feature-rich devices. This says little about Nokia's confidence in using Symbian as a platform for internet tablet devices.

For more on this story:
-read IT Pro and The Register

Related stories:
How big can mobile Linux get? Linux story
Verizon backs LiMo; Linux is preferred OS. Verizon story

Nokia changing direction

Mon, 12 May 2008 06:59:56 -0400

At a Nokia shareholder meeting last week, CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo seemed to indicate a change of direction for the entire company: "Our goal is to act less like a traditional manufacturer, and more like an Internet company."

Thus Nokia has reorganised its mobile phones, multimedia, and enterprise solutions divisions into two segments: devices and services. This, together with the existing, but unchanged, infrastructure division, and the pending acquisition of GPS specialist Navteq, should equip Nokia in its bid to take on Internet companies such as Apple, Google and Microsoft.

This is an interesting approach from a major company, in which the future is likely to see less time spent on hardware and more effort developing improved software--Nokia may even have an advantage with its 'Comes With Music' venture. "I ask for some more patience from the shareholders. There is quite a lot better to be seen ahead." added Kallasvuo. The question remains as to whether Nokia will target the business market or go for consumer level features.

For more on this story:
-read Ars Technica

Related stories:
T-Mobile, Nokia renew deal for mobile web services. T-Mobile story
Navteq invests in Acuity Mobile to further expand ad capabilities. Navteq story

Sony Ericsson ships 22.3M phones in 1Q

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 06:59:58 -0400

A slowing economy and rising component costs didn't stop handset maker Sony Ericsson from reporting a 2 percent increase in handset shipments. The firm said in first quarter 2008 it shipped 22.3 million handsets, a 2 percent increase year over year. However, the company also reported that pre-tax profits for the quarter were $308.1 million, down from $795.6 million in fourth quarter 2007 and $574.9 million a year ago. Net income for the quarter $211.1 million a decrease of 48 percent from the year ago quarter of $403.27 million. Average selling price decreased to $192 down from $195 in fourth quarter.

The drop in profits wasn't a surprise thanks to the company's revised forecast last month that indicated its profits would only be in the $239.5 million to $319.3 million range.

The company blamed the decrease on higher research and development costs. President Dick Komiyama said that the company expects to see some positive results from its new products that it announced in the first quarter, including the Xperia X1, a high-end multimedia convergence phone based on Windows Mobile that will launch in the second half of the year. To that end, the company also released two new HSDPA handsets for the European market, the Z780 and the G502, both of which come with Google Maps for Mobile.

For more,
- see this press release about Sony Ericsson's earnings
- And see this release on the new phones

Related stories:
Hands-on with Sony Ericsson's Xperia. Sony Ericsson story
Mobile World Congress: SE's Windows device. See this Sony Ericsson article

What's behind FT's interest in TeliaSonera and Telenor?

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 06:59:57 -0400

Telecoms mega-mergers have been out of favour for some years, so France Telecoms (FT) admitted interest in acquiring TeliaSonera or Telenor has attracted considerable interest. The CFO of FT, Gervais Pellissier, justified the interest in either telco as a need for constant evolution in the communications business, and that size was an essential element. The company believes, apparently, that it wants these levels of scale to compete with the likes of Google and Nokia.

However, this talk has seen FT's share price dip sharply as the investment community--already shell-shocked with the credit crunch, struggles to understand how FT can squeeze the synergies out of such a €34 billion merger. "Taking on Google is not a good idea and we are concerned that FT is even thinking along these lines," was a typical comment from industry watchers.

However, TeliaSonera and FT are both big players in the Russian and Eastern European telecoms market and some analysts can see a strategic fit in this area. Yuliy Matevosov, a researcher with Dresdner Kleinwort, said that Russia has long been the blank spot on the map of Europe's biggest telecom brands. "One reason why FT wants to buy out one of two Scandinavian operators is, perhaps, the chance to promptly turn into a noticeable player on the markets of Russia and CIS, where the actual penetration of cellular communication is much less than in Eastern Europe."

Mike Cansfield, an analyst at Ovum, claimed there was compelling logic for competing operators to merge. "However, for incumbents it's a bit more muddled."

Deals between European incumbents have been rare, stated Canfield. "Indeed, the merger of Telia and Sonera is the main example. Telia, the former Swedish monopoly, and Telenor, its Norwegian equivalent, had previously agreed to merge, but the deal fell apart in 1999."

For more on this story:
- read New York Times, BBJ, GoMo News and Light Reading

Related story:
FT says it's shopping, but not ready to buy--yet. France Telecom story

Where now for European spectrum auctions?

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 06:59:59 -0400

While last week's CTIA Wireless event was the place to announce what you might plan to do with the 700MHz spectrum you've just won--offer 4G services, if you're AT&T or Verizon Wireless, but what of Europe?

The U.K. is perhaps the nearest to what the U.S. operators have gone through, with Ofcom set to auction around 400MHz of prime spectrum, starting with the 1452-1492 MHz band (the so-called 'L-Band') at the end of April.

Last month Ofcom announced its decision to release the L-band on a technology and service neutral basis from the start (Were they influenced by Google's lobbying of the U.S. regulator for open access?). Regardless, the L-band has been identified as having a number of uses, including mobile multimedia services, satellite digital radio, and broadband wireless access or high-speed Internet on the move.

What remains unanswered today is how big a part politics will play, and if the regulator can be completely neutral. Officially, Ofcom has stated that it wants to get the most benefit from a finite resource, and any funds generated would simply be a by-product of that. Industry analysts have suggested there could be other motives behind this unprecedented move. Is this really a move that champions the user?

How the spectrum is sliced up is also worrying potential bidders. Dividing it into 5MHz units would work best for cell phone operators, leaving it split into 8MHz bundles is a more convenient size for TV broadcasters. One of those 8MHz bundles would be enough to launch up to 24 mobile TV channels, or nine new digital TV free-to-air channels.

If all the spectrum were used for a single purpose, it could support 360 mobile TV channels or 135 digital channels--the equivalent of tripling the size of today's free-to-air platform.

And it's this potential that will generate the interest and the bids from prospective parties--how it pans out will be interesting to watch. -Paul

Déjà vu: Arun Sarin brings MWC speech to CTIA

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 07:59:58 -0400

Vodafone Group CEO Arun Sarin kicked off the second day of the CTIA Wireless show in Las Vegas by explaining to the audience that Virgin Group CEO Richard Branson's keynote yesterday was partially an April Fool's joke.

"Richard Branson regaled you with ideas about Mars yesterday...but I have to remind you: Today is April 2nd and we're going to get down to business right away," Sarin said to applause and laughter.

The timeliness of Sarin's speech, however, ended right there. While his lead-off keynote speech wasn't a carbon copy of the one he gave at Mobile World Congress two months ago, the vast majority of the speech was. Here were the key redundancies:

WiMAX should become part of the LTE standard.
We need fewer mobile operating systems.
Carriers must not allow themselves to become bit pipes.
The time is now to invest in our networks in order to reap the upside of the mobile Internet, or someone else will see that upside instead.

Check out our coverage of Sarin's speech at Mobile World Congress to relive the magic a third time.

Sarin did give a few updated statistics about the Vodafone Group:

There are 25 million 3G customers in its footprint
1.5 million Vodafone subscribers are on the mobile Internet
Vodafone subs have streamed 2.5M YouTube videos
Vodafone subs have completed 92 million searches through its mobile Google search offering
Four million Vodafone users have subscribed to the carrier's Vodafone at Home service, which allows users to pay landline rates when close to home.
Nearly 3 million Vodafone users subscribe to the enterprise version of that service, which allows them to pay landline service prices when near work.

While Sarin lauded the stats, he said that the numbers are less impressive than the fact that users are demanding these services. -Brian

Click here to see photos of Wednesday's keynotes.