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| January, 2006 | Home| About us| Services| Contact Info | |
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Note from Jason Flick
2006 is here, and with
the big CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Vegas just over, everyone is throwing
around their new year predictions on where all this new technology is taking us
next. Here are a few I felt worth passing along: "I am comfortable in saying
that we expect the market for convergence devices like smart phones to double to
100 million units in 2006," Chief Executive Jorma Ollila, Nokia; “Research in
Motion Ltd. will largely prevail in the re-examination of its patents in the
infringement case brought by NTP Inc.” Nancy Weil, IDG News; “The
Googleization of the Internet and,
therefore, the world will quicken in 2006. Competitors will try to keep pace.”
Nancy Weil, IDG News.
Cheers, Jason Flick, |
Wireless Handsets: Not Just Phones?
All of the top wireless-phone makers are at a major trade show this week
displaying a new generation of handsets that combine a variety of functions in a
single device. Handsets can send email, store music on removable memory, play
video clips, check satellite positioning and even monitor a user's stress levels.
In all likelihood, 2006 will emerge as a crucial year for the growth of
Bluetooth technology, a short-range wireless standard that every handset
manufacturer has included in its newest phones.
DualCor Handtop Unites Desktop, Mobile Platforms
Is it a PDA or PC? Handheld-sized Windows XP devices like the model 01+ from OQO and the VGN-U70 from Sony answer both. A startup called DualCor Technologies offers the same response for its upcoming cPC mobile computer. It addresses the question from another angle however. DualCor runs Microsoft’s' Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005 and Windows Mobile 5.0 operating systems (OS) together on the 6.5 X 3.3 X 1.2-inch, 1.2-pound cPC. The purpose of the product is to combine the power of a desktop with the instant-on convenience and staying power of a PDA.
Treo 700w: Palm's First Windows Mobile Smartphone Ships
Verizon Wireless will start offering the Treo 700w tomorrow. The new smartphone
is compatible with the carrier's high-speed EV-DO network.
Palm, Inc. announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada today that the most
eagerly-waited handset of the New Year, the Treo 700w, will ship tomorrow.
Introduced back in September, the smartphone is the first handheld from the PDA
pioneer to run on Microsoft's Windows Mobile platform, and not the Palm operating
system.
Windows Tablet Edition for OQO Handheld PC
After several iterations, OQO has finally brought the Tablet PC edition of the Microsoft
Windows XP operating system to its line of ultra portable model
01+ computers; a no-brainer for a tablet device that - in part - relies on pen
input.
Model 01+ portables cry out for the capabilities Windows XP Tablet PC Edition
2005. With the new platform, OQO can now emphasize the product's touch screen
capabilities.
Wireless Technologies to Buy, Sell and Hold in 2006
January 6, 2006
By Dave Molta
For me, the end of the year is special for many reasons. I enjoy the onset of
winter in upstate New York, marked by me as the first day I can set foot on safe
ice at Oneida Lake. I look forward to seeing the relief on the faces of students
as they turn in their final exams and projects, pleased that they have made it
through another semester. And although it's sometimes tough to deal with the
stress, there's an opportunity to reconnect with family and, yes, the
opportunity to give or receive the perfect gift.
On the giving side, the shiny black iPod Nano elicited warm words from my
often-ornery 15-year-old son Mike. I believe "Jackpot!" was how he put it. And
on the receiving side, my wife was sending me a supportive message--I
think--when she bought me a Yamaha Silent Mute system for my trombone, which
will allow me to more politely play scales and arpeggios to my heart's content
without driving my family insane!
Yahoo Fights for Mobile Dominance
January 6, 2006
Currently the service is only available on Nokia‘s Series 60 line of smart-phones.
Not to be outdone by Google, its rival for web dominance, Yahoo has announced
its debut on mobile phones. The online giant which claims 400 million users
worldwide is launching Yahoo Go Mobile which will allow users to access their
online content via wireless devices.
Yahoo Go Mobile offers a streamlined version of the links available to Yahoo
users connected via a fixed line. The mobile, lighter, version reduces the main
menu content into major categories such as search, mail, news and calendar,
which users can then scroll through more easily whilst they are connected using
their mobile.
Mobile Device Security II: Handheld Operating Systems
January 5, 2006
Each major mobile platform integrates some type of security, yet no one OS
completely safeguards PDAs and smartphones. Bluefire CEO Mark Komisky surveys
the type of protection offered by the most important players.
If you or your organization are planning to purchase a smartphone or PDA, you
should – of course - compare the functionality, usability and security offered
by the mobile platforms dominating industry, including Windows Mobile,
Symbian, RIM Blackberry, Linux, and Palm.
Airport Seeks Ban on Free Airline Wi-Fi
January 9, 2006
By Carmen Nobel
In their efforts to ban airlines from offering free Wi-Fi services in their
lounges, officials representing Boston's Logan Airport continue to insist that
it's not about money, but rather about public safety and management.
The Massachusetts Port Authority, which charges a minimum of $7.95 per day
for public Wi-Fi access throughout Logan Airport, sent a letter to tenant
Continental Airlines Inc. last summer, demanding that the airline turn off the
antenna that provided free Wi-Fi access to its President Club lounge in Logan's
Terminal C.
CES 2006: the First Gadgets Land
January 4, 2006
The New Year’s hangover has been and gone and Christmas is but a fading memory
which means it is must be time for the traditional first week of January jaunt
to Las Vegas for the CES show. The world’s largest gadget-fest, CES is the place
where as many 150,000 industry bods crane their necks to take a look at the
hottest new goodies from the biggest names in electronics. Here's what's caught
our eye so far.
Denial-of-Service Bug Bites BlackBerry
January 4, 2006
By Ryan Naraine
An unpatched security vulnerability in Research in Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry
Enterprise Server could put millions of business users at risk of
denial-of-service attacks, the company acknowledged Tuesday.
In an advisory, RIM warned that a corrupt TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) attachment could be
used in an attack that would stop a user from being able to view
attachments.
Falling Smartphone Prices to Lead to More Mobile Data
January 3, 2006
Adoption of data services over cellular phone systems is starting to grow
rapidly as the price of data-ready smartphones decreases, according to a study
released Tuesday by ABI Research.
The study noted that smartphone sales in the third quarter of 2005 increased
134 percent compared to the same quarter a year ago while prices decreased, on
average, between 25 percent and 30 percent. As cellular operators continue to
roll out 3G cellular data services, the increase in smartphone sales portends an
increasing use of cellular networks for data.
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