Qualcomm Inc. has developed a modem chipset for its CDMA2000 1xEV-DO Rev. B, which it claims can deliver average downlink data rates of 9.3 Mbps via the 5 MHz spectrum. The company expects the Qualcomm Mobile Station Modem MSM7850 chipset to enable mobile TV, music streaming and VoIP calls. The device, which is due for… Continue Reading
Paint Your Way To Wi-Fi Freedom
EM-SEC Technologies plans to sell a wall paint that can bar or hold in WiFi radio signals. The EM-SEC Coating System provides an “electromagnetic barrier for the containment of wireless networks” that, according to Robert Boyd, vice president and director of technology at the Hampton, Virginia-based company, “reduces the threat from electronic eavesdropping and blocks… Continue Reading
WiMedia UWB Becomes A Standard, Opening Door For 480Mbps Wireless USB
That web of wires behind your computer and under your desk may soon become a thing of the past. Once WiMedia’s Ultra Wideband (UWB) technology and Wireless USB products based on WiMedia UWB hit the market. Which could happen in the very near future. UWB has finally become a standard technology as the International Organization… Continue Reading
Seven Business Reasons For Wireless VoIP
King’s Toyota reported a 48 percent growth in sales since July 2006, a development that Gerry Carmichael, its general manager, mainly ascribed to the showroom’s new wireless VoIP system from Spectralink. According to Carmichael, because the system operates with the existing switchboard and voicemail, it allows him to reach a sales or service person anytime… Continue Reading
Motorola Snags Developer Of Wireless HD
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
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
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