Posts filed under 'Mobile'
Research In Motion today provided an update in the patent litigation between RIM and NTP. RIM has developed and tested software workaround designs for all BlackBerry handsets operating on converged voice/data networks in the United States. Although there is no injunction order in place, and RIM believes it has strong legal and factual arguments opposing an injunction, RIM has developed these software workaround designs as a contingency to allow BlackBerry service to continue should the court implement an injunction in the current litigation involving the NTP patents.
“RIM remains pragmatic and reasonable in its willingness to enter into a settlement that would generously compensate NTP while protecting RIM’s business and partners,” said Jim Balsillie, Chairman and Co-CEO at Research In Motion. “NTP’s public offer of a so-called ‘reasonable’ license, however, is simply untenable. It comprises illusory protection for RIM and its partners and requires a lump-sum payment for the theoretical life of the patents even though the US Patent Office is expected to nullify them.”
Mr. Balsillie added: “RIM’s workaround provides a contingency for our customers and partners and a counterbalance to NTP’s threats. This will hopefully lead to more reasonable negotiations since NTP risks losing all future royalties if the workaround is implemented.”
RIM’s Workaround Strategy: Workarounds are a legitimate strategy that have been respected by the courts as a means to avoid infringement. In the years leading up to its public launch in 1999, BlackBerry was invented wholly independently of NTP’s patents and comprises a wide spectrum of designs and inventions that are outside the scope of NTP’s patents. There are only 9 claims relating to 3 NTP patents remaining in dispute in this litigation and those claims are only directed to specific implementations of certain aspects of the BlackBerry products and services. As a result, RIM has been able to modify its underlying BlackBerry message delivery system to “work around” the NTP patent claims. Although the development of this modification required substantial R&D effort from RIM and would require software updates in the event of an injunction, RIM has ensured that the industry leading functionality, performance and user experience remains intact.
Legal Opinion on Workaround: RIM has received a confidential and privileged legal opinion confirming that RIM’s software workaround designs do not infringe any of the NTP patent claims remaining in the litigation. This legal opinion was provided by a leading expert in patent law and workarounds from one of the world’s largest law firms. As mediation, litigation and reexamination proceedings and activities continue before the courts and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (”Patent Office”), RIM will continue to protect the confidential and privileged nature of certain information.
Multi-Mode Edition Software: RIM has incorporated the workaround designs into a software update called BlackBerry Multi-Mode Edition that has been developed and tested as a contingency. RIM has also filed new patent applications with the Patent Office to cover its workaround designs. BlackBerry Multi-Mode Edition is so named because the software is capable of operating in different modes that can be remotely activated by RIM through its Network Operations Center (NOC). In the absence of an injunction, the software and the underlying message delivery system can continue to run in “Standard Mode” (identical to the manner in which the current BlackBerry software and system operate) and the workaround will remain dormant. In the event of an injunction, RIM is able to remotely activate “US Mode” via its NOC and the workaround designs would automatically engage for each handset containing the Multi-Mode Edition software update.
User Impact: RIM invested significant engineering effort to develop workaround designs that remain invisible to users and maintain the existing platform benefits for system administrators, application developers and network operators, while modifying the necessary underlying elements of the BlackBerry message delivery system to be fundamentally different from the NTP patent claims.
Pre-Existing BlackBerry Customers: There is no injunction currently in place and any potential injunction would not necessarily apply to customers that purchased a BlackBerry handset prior to the effective date of any such injunction. RIM believes there are persuasive legal grounds for (at least) exempting pre-existing customers from any injunction and RIM has raised these arguments in its court submissions. In the event of an injunction without such an exemption however, the BlackBerry Multi-Mode Edition software update would allow continuing service for pre-existing customers.
New BlackBerry Customers: In the event of an injunction barring new sales of products utilizing RIM’s current system designs, RIM will have already pre-loaded the new BlackBerry Multi-Mode Edition software on to BlackBerry handsets and incorporated it into BlackBerry Enterprise Server software prior to shipping.
Software Availability: RIM has commenced the network certification process required for all software updates and will soon begin to ship the new software latent on new handsets in addition to making the software update generally available at the web site listed below for corporate IT departments and others to download and implement in accordance with their IT procedures. RIM, NTP and the US Department of Justice have all raised issues that would warrant a transition period following a potential injunction order. NTP has proposed a 30-day transition period, but RIM has argued that the transition period should be longer if the court were to grant and implement an injunction.
Patent Office: The Patent Office has already soundly rejected each of NTP’s patents on two occasions. These rulings from the Patent Office were based on multiple grounds, required the unanimous agreement of three senior patent examiners, and are expected to withstand all future appeals by NTP. NTP, however, is attempting to exploit and widen a gap in timing between separate proceedings underway in the court system and the Patent Office. RIM developed its software workaround designs as a contingency for the possibility that an injunction is implemented prior to the cancellation of NTP’s patent claims.
RIM Opposes Any Injunction: NTP made clear that it is seeking monetary compensation from RIM and it is therefore evident that NTP can be fully compensated through ongoing royalty payments. There is also clear evidence that an injunction has become increasingly impractical and inappropriate given the specific facts of this case, including NTP’s failure to present a plan that is acceptable to the United States government. There are over 3 million BlackBerry users in the United States today and the United States government estimates that nearly 1 million of those users would need to be exempt from any injunction. In addition, final rejections of NTP’s patents are expected from the Patent Office in the coming weeks. There are also significant public interest concerns relating to any potential suspension or interruption of BlackBerry service in the United States, including a potentially significant impact on national security and the US economy.
Web Site: RIM will make the software update available at a later date on a special web site: http://www.blackberry.com/workaround. Additional information on the BlackBerry Multi-Mode Edition software update is already posted on this site and periodic updates will be posted prior to the effective date of any potential injunction order. The software workaround designs remain a contingency plan because the court has not yet ruled on RIM’s argument that the aggregate effort to deploy this software update for millions of users is not warranted under the circumstances. There is no need for any customer action at this point in time.
February 10th, 2006
AVerMedia utilized CES and the Intel booth to showcase the revolutionary new DVB-H technology with its new E570.
DVB-H (mobile television) is largely based on the successful DVB-T specification for digital terrestrial television, adding to it a number of features designed to account for the limited battery life of small handheld devices and the particular environments in which such devices must operate.
The E570 from AVerMedia features low power consumption and superior mobile receiving abilities for handheld devices. The tiny card can be used in conjunction with a number of devices including; mobile phones, PDAs and notebook computers to allow users to watch the latest digital TV programmes whilst on the move. Supporting both L band and UHF band signals users are able to use one device to watch digital TV in North America and Europe.
AVerMedia also demonstrated its new E569 TV Tuner, also a DVB-H solution but in the form of the new Express Card TM interface measuring a mere 34mm. The powerful E569 enables users to not only watch digital TV programmes on their notebook computer but also to run different multimedia programmes simultaneously.
“Mobile TV has been predicted as the next big thing. AVerMedia has demonstrated that we are ready to play a key role in this market along side other backers such as Intel. We provide a complete range of PC-TV solutions for a variety of platforms and are pleased to be a pioneering developer in DVB-H TV Tuner solutions”, says Jon Rainford, Multimedia Product Manager, AVerMedia UK. “The launch of one of the first worldwide DVB-H TV Tuner solutions shows the advance in mobile TV development, but for AVerMedia it also proves our ability to react quickly to market trends. We are excited about becoming a key provider of handheld TV tuners”.
Although the new DVB-H technology is only in testing stages across the UK, AVerMedia will be ready to support and provide solutions to its customers from launch. Trials are currently being held in both Cambridge and Oxford and are expected to run until March. For full information on the availability of DVB-H, visit www.dvb-h-online.org
January 30th, 2006
Option, the wireless technology company, continues the successful execution of its HSDPA strategy with the announcement and initial shipment of a new product within its HSDPA portfolio
- the GlobeTrotter HSDPA.
The new data card delivers speeds of up to 1.8Mbps over an HSDPA network 4,5 times faster than maximum data rates available over 3G UMTS. If no HSDPA network is available the data card will automatically establish the fastest possible connection using 3G, EDGE or GPRS. The GlobeTrotter HSDPA is already shipping in support of the commercial roll-out plans of network operators in EMEA.
Jan Callewaert, CEO Option, said: “The launch of this product is a key step in Option’s strategy to support its operator partners and their customers through this technological change. Where HSDPA has already been launched, our new data card delivers the highest possible mobile data rates ‘out-of-the-box’. Where 3G operators are still deploying the enhanced technology, our ‘HSDPA-Ready’ cards empower operators to maintain their wireless broadband marketing and sales momentum without disadvantaging their customers.”
Serving nearly 3.4 million customers, Mobilkom Austria will become one of the first operators to offer Option’s new HSDPA data card when it starts retailing the Vodafone Mobile Connect Card Broadband (HSDPA/UMTS/EDGE) today. At the same time, a free software upgrade to HSDPA will be made available to any Mobilkom’s customers who previously purchased the UMTS+EDGE ‘HSDPA Ready’ card.
Announced in September 2005, Option’s ‘GlobeTrotter 3G/EDGE HSDPA-Ready’ and ‘GlobeTrotter FUSION+ HSDPA-Ready’ data cards have helped sustain strong demand for wireless data solutions by empowering new users to enjoy the benefits of 3G safe in the knowledge that their data card can be upgraded simply when HSDPA becomes available from their operator.
As soon as an operator is ready to launch HSDPA within its territory, a
simple firmware upgrade, made available via a website, is sufficient to
release the full power of 1.8 Mbps HSDPA.
January 23rd, 2006
Research In Motion (RIM) today announced that Google Talk instant messaging and Google Local for mobile will be supported on the BlackBerry.
“Instant messaging and local content are two increasingly important areas of focus for mobile applications and we are very pleased to work with Google in extending these two popular Google services to BlackBerry users,” said Mark Guibert, Vice President, Corporate Marketing at Research In Motion. “Google Talk for BlackBerry and Google Local for mobile will offer additional flexibility to BlackBerry customers in terms of how, when and where they stay in touch.”
“As mobile technology continues to converge, consumers are becoming increasingly more connected and require access to information at home, at work, and on the road,” said Deep Nishar, Director, Product Management, Google Inc. “By extending Google Talk and Google Local beyond the desktop, BlackBerry users will have greater access to the information they need regardless of where they are.”
Google Talk for BlackBerry, a version of the instant messaging application specifically designed for BlackBerry handsets, will allow users to send and receive instant text messages with other members of the Google Talk community, while on the go. Google Talk for BlackBerry extends the user experience of the popular desktop-based Google Talk instant messaging service to BlackBerry devices, allowing users to add, delete and rename contacts, know when their Friends are online and available, leave conversations and resume them later, copy conversation text into memory and even be notified when a message is being typed.
Google Talk for BlackBerry is easy and intuitive to use. After downloading Google Talk for BlackBerry, users can quickly sign in through their Gmail username and password, access their existing Google Talk contact lists, see which Google Talk Friends are online, and send and receive instant messages. The service is integrated with BlackBerry to allow for home screen notifications of new messages, integration of Google Talk instant messages in the BlackBerry Email inbox and quick access to the BlackBerry Calendar from Google Talk for meeting scheduling.
Additionally, users can now download Google Local for mobile, which enables BlackBerry users to view maps and satellite imagery, find local businesses and get driving directions on their BlackBerry handsets. Google Local for mobile provides draggable maps, directions and imagery, as well as a “click to call” feature. Google Local for mobile will store any addresses you have typed in or used for directions for quick and access to previous locations.
The satellite imagery viewing of Google Local for mobile allows users to zoom in on an image for a closer look at the terrain, zoom out for a grander perspective, or move the map in any direction. This interactive satellite view gives you a chance to explore and evaluate your locations in far greater detail.
Google Talk for BlackBerry is expected to be available in the Spring timeframe. Both applications will be free, subject to any data service rates applicable for downloading and using the applications with a limited data plan.
January 13th, 2006
Building upon the popularity of the Nokia 6101 and Nokia 6102 phones, Nokia has announced the Nokia 6102i and Nokia 6103 phones, both of which add the convenience of Bluetooth technology to the already strong feature sets found on these compact mid-range fold-style phones.
The Nokia 6102i phone carries on the same design found on the Nokia 6102 phone, while the new Nokia 6103 phone features an updated modern look but retains the compact size and exceptional ease-of-use that made the Nokia 6101 phone such a hit with customers. The Nokia 6102i and Nokia 6103 phones will be available in a GSM 900/1800/1900 version primarily for markets in Europe, Africa and Asia while a GSM 850/1800/1900 version will be available primarily for markets in the Americas. Both phones are planned to be available during the 1st quarter of 2006 and are expected to retail for approximately €200, before applicable taxes or subsidies.
The addition of Bluetooth technology to this popular phone platform opens up a myriad of options for owners to increase the productivity and convenience of their mobile experience. Nokia offers a wide array of Bluetooth technology-enabled enhancements such as wireless car kits and wireless headsets as part of its line of mobile enhancements. Today, Nokia announced a new trio of wireless headsets including one of the smallest such devices ever made available. Additionally, with an increasing number of products being introduced to market incorporating Bluetooth technology - from laptops to automobiles - owners of the Nokia 6102i and Nokia 6103 phones will find an ever expanding number of ways to use their mobile devices.
“The Nokia 6101 and Nokia 6102 phones have proven to be extremely successful. The combination of a modern, compact folding design with a strong feature set and Nokia’s easy-to-use interface has proven to be an irresistible draw for customers shopping for a mid-range handset,” said Aage Snorgaard senior vice president of broad appeal products for Nokia. “With Bluetooth technology currently being on the top of many customers ‘wish lists’, the addition of Bluetooth technology to this equation will make the Nokia 6102i and Nokia 6103 phones even more attractive to wireless consumers.”
Along with Bluetooth technology, the Nokia 6102i and Nokia 6103 phones offer a strong feature set including a VGA camera with dedicated camera key, Nokia Xpress audio messaging for sending audio clips with just the touch of a few buttons and dual color screens with support for animated wallpapers and screensavers. Synchronizable contact and calendar information, voice dialing and recording and a built-in handsfree speakerphone make the Nokia 6102i and Nokia 6103 phones a perfect productivity companion, while an integrated FM radio and downloadable content support including MIDI and MP3 ring tones, themes and games satisfy the need for fun.
January 9th, 2006
“This tape will self-destruct in five seconds” became a household phrase in the 60s and 70s thanks to the creators of Mission Impossible, and now 30 years later, the ability to send your own self-destruct text message has become a reality thanks to a new innovation launched by Staellium UK Ltd – StealthText.
Whether you’re a celebrity who’s up to no good or a business executive
dealing in sensitive information, the last thing you want is for private text messages you’ve sent to fall into the wrong hands. StealthText allows you to send a text message safely in the knowledge that it will delete itself from the recipient’s mobile phone as soon as the person has read it, finally allowing the sender control of his or her own information.
Until now, mobile phone users have had to rely on recipients to delete sensitive text messages on their behalf; although a number of high profile cases (Rebecca Loos..cough), have shown that this cannot always be relied on. However, by simply keying in a code, StealthText users can rest assured that the message goes up in smoke, just like the famous tapes scenes in the Mission Impossible series.
Those wishing to sign up to the service can simply text STEALTH to 80880 to receive a link that will allow them to download the StealthText applet via a WAP connection. Once a message has been sent, the recipient receives a text notification showing the sender’s name and providing a link to the message. Once opened, the message will disappear after a short period of time (about 40 seconds). To unsubscribe to the service simply text STOP to 80880.
Staellium, the company behind the breakthrough, has already received enquiries from interested parties as diverse as financial services, MOD and celebrity agents, demonstrating the breadth of use.
Carole Barnum, CEO and Co-founder of Staellium UK comments, “The technology behind StealthText is derived from military technology, so the comparisons with Mission Impossible are justified. The ability to send a self-destruct message has massive benefits for people from all walks of life, from everyday mobile users, through to celebrities and business people, but this is just the start. In spring 2006 we will be launching new services such as self-destruct email, voice and picture messages, so ultimately no one will ever have to worry about their messages or pictures ending up in the wrong hands ever again.”
SECURITY: To comply with legal requirements, when the message is deleted from the recipient’s phone, the ‘paper trail’ and log stays on a protected, secure server for a period of time before being completely deleted. To prevent abuse, the recipient has no access to the server.
TO REPLY: The recipient can easily reply with StealthTexts, creating a private channel of two-way communication. StealthText is also a widely accessible application for sending self-destruct messages via SMS and WAP. In the mass-market version, every WAP-enabled handset - currently 80% of the 40 millions handsets in the UK, can download a simple applet and send self-destruct messages to any other mobile phone - recipients don’t need to have the applet to receive a message, just if they wish to send one themselves.
TO SEND A FRIEND TWO FREE SELF DESTRUCT MESSAGES: To have access to StealthText, someone needs to have sent you the other part of the “secret code”, turning StealthText in a peer-to-peer application. Each user sending StealthText to someone else will have 2 free StealthTexts.
A 24 hour helpline is available for subscribers 08000 1128 61. The service is currently available around the world for users of UK SIM cards only. StealthText will be available across Europe, in the US and Asia early 2006.
December 12th, 2005
Nokia today expanded its business device portfolio with an addition to its high-end smartphone range, the Nokia 9300i. Incorporating WLAN connectivity with a full keyboard, 65,536-color screen, support for a broad range of enterprise email solutions and an attachment viewer, the Nokia 9300i is the perfect combination of design and function and is ideally suited to meet the tough demands of mobile professionals.
With the addition of WLAN connectivity, the Nokia 9300i enhances productivity by providing a reliable and cost-effective data connection for downloading large files or email1 with attachments. 80 MB of memory capacity (expandable up to 2GB with an optional MMC card) provides ample space for file storage, and the wide color screen makes it easy to view different types of documents, spreadsheets, presentations and web sites. Add outstanding voice capabilities and the Nokia 9300i enterprise smartphone is a great all-in-one device.
“Nokia continues to offer more choices for individuals looking for fully featured smartphones built specifically for business use,” said Niklas Savander, senior vice president of Nokia’s business device unit for the Enterprise Solutions business group. “Our business customers want continuity as well as a constant stream of improvements in our products. The Nokia 9300i delivers just that as it combines WLAN and other features with a suite of powerful applications and email solutions.”
The Nokia 9300i smartphone supports E-GPRS (EDGE) and WLAN 802.11g, five party conference calling via an integrated speakerphone and multiple email clients (with attachments), including BlackBerry Connect, Nokia Business Center, IBM WebSphere, Oracle Collaboration Suite, Seven Always-On Mail and Visto Mobile. The Nokia 9300i smartphone also integrates infrared and Bluetooth capabilities, giving users two different ways to wirelessly synchronize their devices to a desktop PC or laptop, as well as exchange data with other mobile devices.
Planned availability for the Nokia 9300i smartphone is Q1 2006. Nokia will offer one tri-band version of the Nokia 9300i optimized for mobile networks in Europe and Asia (900/1800/1900 MHz) and capable of operating in compatible GSM networks in the Americas. For further information on features and availability, please visit www.nokia.com. For information on pricing, please contact your local Nokia representative.
November 29th, 2005
IVT Corporation, the Bluetooth technology specialist, announced today at the world Fixed-Mobile Convergence (FMC) conference in London that the world’s first Bluetooth Class 1 Cordless Telephony Profile (CTP) enabled GSM phone is now in mass production. Known as the IVT O100, the new phone acts as a normal cellular phone when outdoors and as a cordless fixed line phone when indoors.
Dr Qiang Gao, CEO of IVT Corporation said: “Given the maturity of the telecommunications market and the growing requirement across the world for solutions to the challenge of FMC, we are confident that there will be high demand from telecoms operators for the new IVT 0100 phone in 2006″.
The Bluetooth Class 1 CTP/GSM phone is a GSM mobile phone with Bluetooth cordless telephony function built-in, which enables the mobile user to connect automatically to a Bluetooth CTP enabled Access Point (AP) in the range of 100 meters in open air via a Bluetooth wireless link, and then acts as the cordless phone of the AP. It provides a simple and effective solution to connect to fixed line networks, IP and mobile networks and can auto-switch between fixed and mobile networks. The Bluetooth CTP phone can be used to dial out or pick up a phone call anywhere in the range of an AP but the cost of the call is the same as that of a fixed line or IP network. Users will return to the GSM mode automatically when it is out of the range of an AP.
Field tests have shown that the IVT O100 can talk to the IVT Bluetooth Class 1 CTP enabled AP up to 150 meters in the open air. With a single 700 mAh battery, the CTP talking time reaches 8 hours and the standby time 100 hours. The IVT O100 has passed GCF, CE and Bluetooth Qualification.
The new IVT 100 was demonstrated for the first time today at the World
Fixed-Mobile Conference in London.
November 15th, 2005
The traditional Christmas card will soon be consigned to history by individual mobile phone-based greetings cards, according to the founders of Stampster.co.uk, a new no-subscription picture customising website.
Stampster says that the number of Christmas messages sent by mobile phone has nearly doubled in three years. A 2005 YouGov survey of UK mobile trends found that 56% of Britons already wish their friends ‘Merry Christmas’ by mobile. A similar survey in 2002 found that just over 30% of Britons sent Christmas greetings this way.
And according to Stampster, the final nail in the coffin of the traditional card is the rise of picture messaging. With most modern mobiles featuring cameras and colour screens, Britons are bridging the gap between traditional cards and plain text messages by personalising their own pictures to send to the mobiles of friends and loved ones.
This is made easy by the Stampster website, which lets users upload photos, customise them by adding picture frames and send them to mobiles as a personal Christmas greeting or any type of message for just £1.50 per image sent, which is charged to the sender’s mobile phone bill.
Special Christmas Multi-Packs are also available, letting users generate a Stampster greetings card and bulk send it to ten friends for only £5 – meaning personalised mobile Christmas cards for only 50 pence.
Stampster co-founder Dominic Conlon said: “The death of the Christmas card by mobile message has been forecast since the start of the decade. But now that mobile users can have both the immediacy of texts with the emotions of a picture using Stampster, the traditional card’s days really are numbered.
“Traditional cards are associated with the older generation, while younger people prefer the fun and immediacy of making their own Christmas greeting. After over 150 years of sending cards by post, Christmas greetings are starting to move with the times – and at less than the price of an ordinary card plus postage.”
November 1st, 2005
Lost your phone and need to make an urgent call? Just arrived in the UK and find that your roaming rights have been revoked? Need to ring totally anonymously so that the police have no idea who made the call that detonated that car bomb or harassed your ex-wife? Vodafone to the rescue with their QuickPhone kiosk!
Yes, Vodafone have unveiled what is, in principle, a great idea, but that has too many potential problems, in the humble opinion of TechSmec.com, to be ethical. The QuickPhone kiosk offers three models between £30 and £60. Additionally, a SIM (subscriber identity module) card-only pack can be brought for £5, just in case you have got your mobile with you but need that instant anonymity. Manchester is the first lucky town to get a dispensing machine, but Vodafone hopes to roll them out in train stations and airports around the country.
“These will be popular with people who need a phone in an emergency, either because they have lost their phone or it has run out of battery,” said a Vodafone spokesman. “They are for people who know what they want and who don’t want to go through the rigmarole of talking to a sales assistant.”
TechSmec.com hopes the machine will use the same corkscrew mechanism as your standard crisp dispenser. We plan on hovering around a QuickPhone kiosk when we see one hoping that someone’s phone got stuck on the way out. A soft kick just there should do it….
October 31st, 2005
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