Jun 30 2003 - 02:43 PM ET | Push-to-talk
This has been the hot-topic lately, but we promise this is the last story today on Push-To-Talk. AT&T Wireless plans to launch their service in Q1 2004 according to this MSNBC story. There aren't a whole lot of specifics (other...
Jun 30 2003 - 02:35 PM ET | Cingular, Data
Cingular has launched the world's first EDGE network, oddly enough in Indianapolis Indiana. EDGE stands for Enhanced Datarate for Global Evolution and is a software tweak to GPRS . Data speeds peak out at 170 kilobits per second and average...
Jun 30 2003 - 02:12 PM ET | Push-to-talk
Last week we mentioned that Verzion took Nextel to court for "improperly obtaining" some prototypes for Verizon's upcoming walkie-talkie feature. The plot thickens. Today Nextel is taking Verizon to court over using the phrase "push-to-talk". We're not lawyers, but a...
Jun 30 2003 - 11:49 AM ET | In The News
RealNetworks has been making some serious moves in the mobile industry lately. First it was with the Nokia 3650, and then it was with the Nokia 6600. Now it is with Vodafone--the biggest carrier in Europe. The deal will provide...
Here's a hot and steamy story for you--Verizon is sueing Nextel for "improperly obtained" prototypes of Verizon Wireless cell phones that are aimed to compete with Nextel's "Direct Connect" powered phones. Back in May, MobileTracker brought you an exlusive on...
Jun 27 2003 - 04:16 PM ET | Sprint Nextel
CD's aren't selling, so record labels are looking to ink a contract to turn top 40 hits into ringtones. Sprint PCS aims to use real clips of the songs as ring tones instead of the monophonic tones that are prevalent...
MobileBurn has posted a review of the Siemens SL55. Here at MobileTracker HQ we've had our eye on this thing for a while, it's good to see that the gang at MobileBurn like it: bq. "The most obvious, and probably...
A zoo in Denmark is starting up a system that tags the children with a little Bluetooth device which pings transponders across the park that relay the location of the child to a database. Parents can send a text message...
Jun 26 2003 - 01:23 PM ET | Camera
Over a week ago MobileTracker ran a storie on an attempt to curb camera phones--critics state that it's too easy to bring a camera phone into something like a locker room and take pictures of people without their knowledge. Switzerland...
Jun 25 2003 - 02:12 PM ET | SMS
Textually noted that Saudi Arabian students can now fetch their exam scores via an SMS message. Neat!...
Jun 25 2003 - 01:21 PM ET | Sony Ericsson
MobileBurn has a photo of the Sony Ericsson P810. If you haven't heard of it, that's because it's meant to replace the P800 which is just gaining steam. There isn't a whole lot known about it except that it boasts...
Jun 25 2003 - 11:59 AM ET | Nokia
Opera has released an update to its mobile browser that lets it run on Nokia series 60 phones (7650 and 3650). We've heard good things about Opera on mobile phones, so if you own one of the compatibile phones you...
Jun 24 2003 - 08:13 PM ET | In The News
The UK has cracked down on driving with cell phones, but is being criticized for not cracking down on handsfree cell phone use. Earlier we reported that a new study found almost no difference between drivers who used phone without...
In another victory for consumers, Verizon has given up the fight to continue the tradition of forcing customers that switch carriers to get new numbers. According to a piece of FCC legislation, so called number portability will come to US...
Jun 24 2003 - 01:08 PM ET | In The News
Cingular's annual survey has found that men talk more on cell phones than women (by 14%). This is the third time in a row men have been in the lead, so it's probably right. For our female readers, don't feel...
Jun 24 2003 - 12:56 PM ET | In The News
If you use a hands free device to talk while you're driving, it may not be as safe as you think. A new study out of Sweeden found that a hands free device makes little difference in "safety". It lets...
Jun 24 2003 - 12:44 PM ET | In The News
During the WWDC Keynote yesterday Apple introduced a new version of its iChat software. Doesn't sound neat until you dig into the details. iChat A/V does both voice and video (on top of text), and uses the same "audio technology"...
Jun 22 2003 - 02:19 PM ET | Smartphone
If it's spending your cash, you better hope it's smart. The technology which is detailed in New Scientist magazine will learn your habits and then once it gets a feel for your predictable life, start running your life for you....
Jun 20 2003 - 05:44 PM ET | Site News
You've probably noticed by now that MobileTracker is sporting spiffy new text ads. We got rid of the reader specials and have teamed up with Google to include two targeted ads in the same place. We were a little skeptical...
Jun 20 2003 - 01:27 PM ET | Kyocera
It's not fair that Japan has all the megapixel camera phones, and it's really not fair that they have the new Kyocera A5305K (sorry, we didn't name it). MobileBurn has a unit in-house to play with, and it looks great....
Jun 20 2003 - 01:21 PM ET | In The News
A recent survey asked people if they would switch after number portability kicks in (hopefully in Novemeber). The results were interesting: * 16 percent may discontinue their local phone service once they can transfer their phone numbers. * 27 percent...
Jun 19 2003 - 07:26 PM ET | In The News
Several sites have posted CeBIT America coverage today. We weren't able to attend this year, but according to Gizmodo we didn't miss much. Maybe next year. Everyone seems to be in agreement that the 8-day mega conference in Germany is...
Jun 19 2003 - 03:01 PM ET | Rumor
Word on the street is that Orange is going to join a roaming alliance started earlier this year by T-Mobile, Telecom Italia Mobile, and Telefonica Moviles. This would help all companies involved compete against Vodafone which offers roaming over nearly...
Research In Motion let us know that the BlackBerry 6210 is now available from T-Mobile. It costs $299 and can be purchased through select retailers (including directly from T-Mobile's website)....
Jun 19 2003 - 11:10 AM ET | Bluetooth
The Bluetooth World Congress is going on now over in Amsterdam, and there are some interesting reports coming out of it. The big knock on Bluetooth is that it's hard to configure. At the conference, Sony claimed that they have...
Jun 19 2003 - 11:04 AM ET | Handspring
If you missed it, go check out yesterday's report on the new Treo 600. This PDA/phone is going to be HOT. MobileBurn got a chance to play around with it at the CeBIT America conference in New York City....
Jun 18 2003 - 08:47 PM ET | SMS
US Presidential candidate Howard Dean is using text messages in his campaign. This has been proven to work in countries where SMS is a common communication platform, but not in the US. It will be interesting to see how this...
Jun 18 2003 - 08:34 PM ET | Camera, DoCoMo
NTT DoCoMo announced today that it will start to market the new Mova SH505i camera phone on June 20th. The phone boasts an impressive resolution of 1.0 megapixels which puts it in the small group of camera phones that take...
The much talked about Treo 600 is finally here. C|Net has been leaking details for a while now, but an official release went out this morning. The device will initially be available in two versions, a CDMA version will be...
Jun 17 2003 - 11:03 PM ET | Nokia
Nokia has teamed up with RealMedia to extend mobile streaming support on its series 60 phones. You may recall that RealOne is shipping on the newly announced Nokia 6600--it's part of the deal. The up-and-coming 3GPP format is supported, which...
In today's Wall Street Journal (sorry about the late post, it's been a long day at MobileTracker HQ), there is an article on megapixel camera phones. It's on the front page of the Marketplace section, and features a large photo...
Jun 16 2003 - 07:28 PM ET | Camera
Xeni Jardin notes over at BoingBoing that Switzerland is banning camera phones on the beach and in public bath rooms. It's not clear how this will be policed, as most phones with built-in camera's don't look much different from those...
Jun 16 2003 - 02:06 PM ET | 3G, DoCoMo
3G phones have super-fast data and super-low battery life. DoCoMo says they figured out how to extend battery life without compromising features. The new phones which are made by Fujitsu and NEC, will run for 200 - 240 hours. That...
Jun 16 2003 - 01:59 PM ET | SMS
Korea has taken a big step to curb mobile spam. They stopped local mobile carriers from launching a common wireless Internet platform called WIPI until effective anti-spam measures are made. Of course, there is a downside as well... The government...
We swear this is the last Nokia post for the day... Nokia and Kodak have teamed up to make mobile printing a piece of cake. bq. "Users of Nokia imaging phones, such as the Nokia 6600, will be able to...
Jun 16 2003 - 12:29 PM ET | Nokia, Unique
In Singapore today, Nokia introduced the 3100 which is aimed at style-conscious mobile consumers. You know how people customize their phones to be wacky? The 3100 is just like that except it comes straight from the factory. The default case...
Nokia today announced the 6600 (seen at right), a camera phone with a lot of perks. It's aimed at the business sector and is loaded down with such things as a digital zoom, a video recorder and RealOne installed off...
Jun 14 2003 - 09:13 PM ET | In The News, SMS
According to a recent BBC report, SMS has taken the lead as the most popular function young people use their mobile phones for. 80% of people under 25 would rather send an SMS than make a call, but the number...
AOL has dumped Research In Motion's Mobile Communicator device in favor of the T-Mobile Sidekick (technically it's made by Danger and is called the HipTop, but T-Mobile is the only company to market it so far). To sweeten the deal,...
We've gotten word from Motorola that they've teamed up with Nextel and Symbol Technologies to make the first wireless barcode scanner for mobile phones. This looks to have a real use in warehouse environments and even in certain retail applications....
Jun 13 2003 - 01:06 PM ET | In The News
According to a recent study, low priced plans aren't enough to sell a phone contract--at least in the US. Usage patterns vary (some make many night calls, other weekends, still others enjoy SMS), so having plans that cater to different...
Jun 13 2003 - 01:02 PM ET | In The News, SMS
Following up on our previous report on SMS Spam, it looks like Australia is cracking down. The West Australian is reporting that carriers that don't crack down on junk SMS messages will face fines of up to $10 million AU....
Jun 13 2003 - 12:04 PM ET | 3G, Nokia
According to the company, Nokia has started commercial deliveries of the world's first dual-mode 3GPP compliant GSM/WCDMA. It sounds like a really neat idea as it's able to handle seamless handovers (from GSM to WCDMA and back). The Nokia 6650...
Jun 12 2003 - 11:22 AM ET | In The News
The last round of bombing in Saudi Arabi was set off by a cell phone--or at least that's the word at this time. This is going to fuel the people who are pushing for a ban of cell phones in...
Jun 11 2003 - 02:46 PM ET | In The News, SMS
According to Will Sturgeon over at Silicon.com, spam on mobile devices is becoming a problem. He cites that over 2/3 of mobile users have gotten an unsolicited SMS. However unlike email, SMS has a cost to it--usually a per message...
Jun 11 2003 - 12:02 PM ET | Unique
Motorola and Nextel teamed up for several location-based services, ranging from voice-enabled driving directions to asset tracking solutions, using Motorola's GPS-enabled iDEN mobile phones. New location-based services are available directly to Nextel customers, as well as to developers, for integration...
Howard Chui has published his review of the Sony Ericsson T610. In his usual style the review is long and very detailed. Here at MobileTracker HQ we are really interested in this phone and are excited that Howard gave it...
Jun 09 2003 - 04:14 PM ET | In The News
Reuters has posted a story about the effects of SARS on mobile sales. There has been a lot of talk about SMS used as a warning technique, but this is the first we have heard of negative effects for the...
iMobile has posted a review of the Sony Ericsson T310. The phone is pretty nice looking and sports a decent feature set, but according to the review it doesn't have anything that's really different (except the design) from it's predecessor,...
Jun 09 2003 - 01:14 PM ET | Nokia
Nokia's N-Gage which we reported as shipping in October looks to be on track. According to Mobile Burn it has gotten the thumbs up by the FCC. The exact launch date is unknown, but here at MobileTracker we're sticking with...
Samsung is making a new phone dubbed the SCH-X820 that includes a TV tuner. The cool part about that is the signals come directly from the TV stations to your phone--no extra charges. The Kora Herald has the details (strangly...
Jun 08 2003 - 02:48 PM ET | SMS, Unique
CD's aren't selling well for several reasons (according to the record labels it's just one reason, but that is a gross simplification). The new thing on the block is selling ring tones and backgrounds for cell phones. That's not news,...
Jun 06 2003 - 12:46 PM ET | In The News
Consumers rejoice. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled in favor of the FCC's plan to not make consumers change phone numbers when they change carriers. The suit which was brought by...
InfoSync World has a neat article on a new product called Fortress SMS for Symbian or Series 60 powered phones that encrypted SMS messages. The software uses AES encryption, so unless you're up against someone with a super computer and...
Cingular has announced the immediate availability of the Siemens S56 mobile phone on its network. This makes Cingular the first carrier to offer the S56 in North America. The dual band GSM handset boasts a full-color display, e-mail, an integrated...
Jun 05 2003 - 11:17 AM ET | In The News
T-Mobile will officially launch the color Side Kick tomorrow according to Reuters. Save for the color screen and boosted RAM, it's exactly the same as the cult-hit monochrome version. It's going to cost $300 and be available through T-Mobile's 1800...
Jun 04 2003 - 10:32 PM ET | Miscellaneous
David Pogue's latest article (free reg. req) for the New York Times is all about cell phones. He asked the different phone makers to send him their easiest to use phones... As you'd expect, none of the phones were very...
Jun 04 2003 - 03:02 PM ET | DoCoMo
NTT DoCoMo is showing once again why it's an innovator. On June 26th, they will start a trial that allows subscribers to shop at on online portal and have items charged to their mobile phone bill. Sounds pretty hip... Hopefully...
Jun 04 2003 - 12:28 AM ET | Sony Ericsson
Sony Ericsson announced the T226--a color screen dual-band GSM/GPRS handset for America. It looks to be quite the little phone, complete with polyphonic ringtones, the Mophun game engine, and a five-way joystick. Not to mention that it comes in at...
Jun 03 2003 - 12:44 PM ET | In The News
Keeping with our Apple theme, an update to QuickTime was made today. Version 6.3 includes support for the 3rd Generation Partnership Project--a format for the creation, delivery and playback of rich multimedia content over wireless networks. You can snag the...
If you're a Mac user, make sure to check out Software Update. Apple has posted an update to the Bluetooth software in OS X. The update provides enhanced stability and support for the following Symbian OS based mobile phones: Nokia...
Jun 02 2003 - 02:18 PM ET | In The News
California wants all drivers to either use a hands-free device or risk paying fines. This comes at an interesting time, since a few days ago a study was released that stated hands free devices don't really prevent accidents. It's the...
Jun 02 2003 - 02:03 PM ET | Push-to-talk
Nextel's Nationwide Direct Connect service will begin rolling out today. By June 16th, the service will available in over 50 percent of Nextel markets. It will be available to 100% in August. Just like in local DirectConnect, Nextel customers will...
Probably the biggest knock on the cult-hit Blackberry series of devices is the lack of a color screen. Research In Motion today took the Blackberry 7320 out of hiding. It's got 16MB of memory, a spiffy color screen, and built...
Nokia and Warner Music International today announced a new marketing collaboration to make music mobile for the Nokia 3300 music device. An inbox MMC memory card will include short music clips from emerging artists, as well as True tone ring...
