Motorola is one of the latest companies to enter the home entertainment market. Its venture capital unit, Motorola Ventures, has made an unspecified investment in wireless technology company Amimon. The U.S.-Israeli firm is known for developing a wireless high-definition interface that can be integrated in semiconductor chips to allow for wireless transfer of uncompressed high-definition… Continue Reading
Author Archives: Eliza Villarino
802.11n Wi-Fi Draft Approved By IEEE
An IEEE working group endorsed draft 2.0 of the 802.11n wireless-networking standard, thus paving the way for a possible sale of products based on this spec by as early as this summer. With the approval, WLAN adapters and access points supporting the standard will need no radical upgrade to comply with the final spec, which… Continue Reading
China Passes U.S. As Skype’s Top Market
China has replaced the U.S. as the top market for Skype. The VoIP provider ascribed the current expansion of its market in Asia — home to 30 percent of its 171 million global subscribers — to the growing popularity of the service in China. For its China operations, Skype partnered with Tom Online Inc., which… Continue Reading
Siemens Teams With Nokia On Wi-Fi-GSM Handover
Siemens and Nokia are collaborating to perfect the handover of voice calls between corporate Wi-Fi and GSM networks. The two companies will work on certifying the compatibility of software in their products for business clients such as Nokia’s E-series mobile phones and Siemens’ fixed-mobile convergence server called MobileConnect, which is compatible with its HiPath 8000… Continue Reading
Nokia Signs On To Help With Sprint Nextel’s WiMax Deployment
Sprint named Nokia as its main partner in building its WiMax network in four Texas cities — Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, and San Antonio — which is expected to be operational by the first half of next year. Sprint earlier announced that it is teaming up with Motorola and Samsung to provide WiMax connection in… Continue Reading
Mobile WiMax Vs. 3G: Will Faster And Cheaper Win?
Though no one contests that mobile WiMax has been gathering momentum, some doubt whether the technology will deliver what it promises in terms of performance. Sprint Nextel believes its mobile WiMax network, which it will roll out in 2008, allows for download speeds of 2 Mbps to 4 Mbps and upload speeds of about 1… Continue Reading
New Wi-Fi Location Tracking Products
Several vendors are introducing new Wi-Fi devices for location services and tracking. According to the Yankee Group, the global location-services market is currently valued at $20 million but is expected to grow to $1.6 billion by 2010. Ekahau dubbed its new radio tracking device “people tag,” which it plans to start selling for $50 during… Continue Reading
Wi-Fi Bus Crosses The Border
Hansa Buss has a new line of coaches with WiFi on board. With a $40 one-way ticket, passengers can connect to the Internet during the full five-hour travel from Tallinn, Estonia, to Riga, Latvia. Prior to launching the line on March 1, Hansa board member Taivo Puuorg sought the advice of Veljo Haamer. The Estonian… Continue Reading
Sprint Facing WiMax Delays?
Analysts are skeptical that Sprint Nextel will meet its target of launching its WiMax network in the U.S. in 2008. According to Dresdner Kleinwort, “the whole project will be marred by severe delays, quality deficiencies and functional slippages.” The analyst firm does not see mass market rollout until 2009 to 2010. Vendors at the 3GSM… Continue Reading
London Takes International WiFi Crown
London has the most number of people connecting to Wi-Fi hotspots at non-business locations, according to a new study by iPass. The British capital, the report said, had over 11,000 access sessions at areas such as cafes and bookshops over a period of six months. The volume is twice that of Singapore. The iPass Wi-Fi… Continue Reading
Fair Wi-Fi: Are Hotels Really Fleecing Guests?
Silicon.com continues with its Fair Wi-Fi campaign, which urges hotels in the U.K. to be more transparent as to how they charge customers for Wi-Fi use. Today, hotel Wi-Fi prices vary some charge a flat fee of £50 while others impose an hourly rate of £5. According to Graeme Powell, MD of iBahn, knowing the… Continue Reading
Clearwire: Taking WiMAX To The Street
Clearwire has gone public. The company’s initial public offering was scheduled for March 6, and through it, Clearwire hoped to raise $513 million or about $25 to $27 per share. Scott Sweet, managing partner at IPOBoutique.com, expected the share price to come to between $25 and $27, thus generating some $621 million for Clearwire, one… Continue Reading
Panasonic Intros $400 Wi-Fi Skype Phone
Panasonic has unveiled its new Wi-Fi Skype phone, which it plans to sell for $399.95. The KX-WP1050 Panasonic Wi-Fi Phone kit features a cordless handset with a 1.8-inch LCD display for viewing Skype contact lists, call histories, and address books, a wireless base station with 256-bit AES encryption (WPA) to ensure security of calls, and… Continue Reading
Paris To Offer Free Wi-Fi Broadband To Citizens And Visitors
Residents of and visitors to Paris will soon get free wireless broadband connection anywhere in the French capital. The city government has chosen Alcatel-Lucent and leading French mobile carrier SFR to build the citywide Wi-Fi network. The service, which will rely on 400 new access points, is expected to be operational by the third quarter… Continue Reading
Wi-Fi: How Do You Eat Yours?
The U.S. leads countries in Wi-Fi usage, accounting for 59 percent of the global total, according to the latest research by iPass. Ahead of Germany, Japan and Singapore, is the U.K., which took the second spot with 11 percent. London emerged in front of Singapore, New York and San Francisco as the city with the… Continue Reading