Mobile Phones

Junichiro Koizumi hopes to be the Next Big Thing in Japanese politics. So too hope the Japanese people, who have watched the one-time economic juggernaut atrophy away the past decade. With his wavy mop of hair and inspired ideas on …

If there were ever any doubts that voice-recognition technology would become a big business, New York state swiftly put those questions to bed when it passed a state law two weeks ago banning the use of mobile phones while driving. …

SAN JOSE, Calif.-An international boom in Internet use and the increasing popularity of mobile phones in countries without wireline infrastructure is expected to greatly increase demand for wireless wide area network equipment, according to “World Wireless Wide Area Network Markets,” …

OTC Wireless OTC Wireless unveiled its AirEZY-Access Management Unit, a product designed to make managing LAN and MAN networks easier. “Our new AirEZY AMU allows for massive scalability coupled with many desired management capabilities,” said Kim Gough director of sales …

BIRMINGHAM, United Kingdom-Sendo, the two-year-old U.K. mobile-phone manufacturer, has supplied its phones to wireless carrier Telfort in the Netherlands. Telfort, which will brand the phones, is selling them through a prepaid offering. “With its own branded mobile phone on the …

NEW YORK-Voice Signal Technologies Inc. will begin commercial sale later this summer of its VoiceTag wireless communications speech- recognition solution, designed to be embedded in the device instead of relying on computer servers or distributed architecture. The privately held company, …

WASHINGTON-As policy-makers last week voiced support for a plan to move the Pentagon off spectrum sought by the mobile phone industry for third-generation wireless systems, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Henry H. Shelton warned Congress that further loss of frequencies …

WASHINGTON-An Illinois state court this week is poised to rule on a proposed $1.4 million health-related privacy suit against the cellular industry, which faces increased litigation as science raises more questions about whether mobile phones can cause brain cancer and …

NEW YORK-Kyocera Corp., Motorola Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. showcased new wireless phones at the TechXNY PC Expo 2001 last week that are more than conversation pieces. PC-EPhone In early July, San Diego-based distributor PC-EPhone Inc. will begin marketing …

So you can check your e-mail wirelessly. Talaris Corp. says “so what?” How about reserving a table at a nearby restaurant for that important work lunch? How about scheduling a conference room during a busy business convention? Or how about …

I am moved. Not by car or subway, or even through time and space by sophisticated cell-phone technology. I am moved by news reports (some with pictures of eternity-bound adults and babies) about the massive human toll from AIDS around …

NEW YORK-Mobileum Inc., Pleasanton, Calif., has released the 2.0 version of Mobileum, which the company is touting as the “world’s first tools-independent wireless application platform.” The “tools-independent” feature means that application and Web developers “can use standard development tools like …

SEOUL, South Korea-South Korea is confronting a row over awarding a third license for third-generation (3G) mobile services, as the government has called for consolidation in the telecom market as a precondition for re-starting the long-delayed spectrum auction. The confusion …

Handsets/ devices Mitsubishi Mitsubishi released three new handsets. The Eclipse is a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) phone with a color display. The dual-band phone offers 256 colors and up to 86 kilobits-per-second data speeds. It has several features for …

COPENHAGEN, Denmark-The discussion surrounding m-commerce includes questions such as whether m-commerce will be a success and what kind of services will be purchased via a mobile phone. Research shows that the “m” not only stands for mobile but also for …

MADRID, Spain-As many European mobile-phone markets inch closer to saturation levels and as voice calls become more commoditized, European mobile providers are seeking other products and services to boost sagging bottom lines. One of the great hopes is mobile payment-the …

DENVER, United States-The third-generation (3G) hype is much less intense than a year ago, as executives and engineers get down to the nitty-gritty of making the new technology-and their business plans-work. It is a time of industry transition and stealth-mode …

Wireless giants CMG, Comverse, Ericsson, Logica, Motorola, Nokia and Siemens are partnering to raise awareness of Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) and to promote the technology’s development in an open global market. MMS combines audio and video clips, photographs and images …

WASHINGTON-Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) officially asked the General Accounting Office to probe growing mobile-phone service problems in the United States, a move likely to produce additional data that could bolster the lawmaker’s consumer wireless bill. “Unfortunately, a growing number of …

WASHINGTON-Lawmakers and disability groups are turning up the volume of criticism of mobile-phone firms and federal regulators over the lack of progress in making digital wireless communications accessible to hearing-impaired Americans. In addition to asking the Federal Communications Commission to …

SANTA MONICA, Calif.-Premium Wireless Services Inc., a wireless entertainment and messaging platform provider, has licensed the copyrights to a variety of songs and music properties from Sony/ATV Music publishers. This agreement allows PWS to sample selections for Sony’s catalogs for …

SINGAPORE SAMSys Technologies Inc., a company that provides radio frequency identification (RFID) reader hardware, and Tunity Pte. Ltd. of Singapore, an Asia-Pacific RFID channel development firm, said they plan to join in marketing efforts. According to the agreement between the …

DENVER – A survey commissioned by wireless device management provider Reason Inc. and conducted by nVision Research of corporations that use wireless devices revealed that half of them have no centralized way to monitor which employees are using which devices …

Move over, Neville Chamberlain. Mobile-phone carriers in Great Britain and Germany last week struck a deal out of desperation, an arrangement with obvious policy implications that may or may not do the trick for third-generation wireless deployment in Europe. Indeed, …

Cellemetry L.L.C. Numerex Corp. announced that its subsidiary, Cellemetry L.L.C., will incorporate Ida Corp.’s Global Trakit Data Center in its Cellemetry network, enabling automatic vehicle location and remote asset management. According to Geoff Girdler, head of the Numerex wireless communication …