Engadget Mobile

Cyrus Farivar

NEC, Samsung stacking flash in hopes of a one-terabit chip

by Cyrus Farivar posted Dec 19th 2006 at 4:41AM

It's a common adage that over time, consumer electronics get faster, cheaper, smaller (size) and bigger (capacity). In continuing with this tradition, NEC, Samsung and others are poised to introduce the next generation of flash memory by placing eight memory chips (each only 50 micrometers thick) and one controller chip in a vertical stack, with "3D connections" between all of 'em -- creating a tiny-sized but powerful piece of storage. Samsung says that this could lead to a one-terabit flash chip within the coming years, but don't count on fitting an entire season of "Lost" on your cellphone just yet -- company scientists say that these new chips are "in their early stages" and can only hold 32 bits for the time being.

[Via Sci Fi Tech, thanks Mike]

Read - NEC press release
Read - Technology Review

Access Linux Platform delayed until "first half of 2007"

by Cyrus Farivar posted Dec 13th 2006 at 5:04PM

Earlier this year (wow, February seems like an eternity ago), we told you how Access was going to relaunch and rebrand the next version of Palm OS, called Access Linux Platform, which was supposed to be in the hands of licensees by the end of the year. Well, the end of 2006 is almost upon us, and now Access has announced that the version won't get to developers until sometime "in the first half of 2007." We're guessing that translates to "we've got no product" for now, and guys, we're bummed. Still, this has no apparent effect on Palm, given that it has no immediate plans to use ALP -- it's sticking to licensing Palm OS Garnet from Access. And yes, that's the same ol' version Palm's been using since the beginning of recorded time. No bitterness here.

[Via Phone Scoop]

BlackBerry versus BlackJack: RIM sues Samsung for trademark infringement

by Cyrus Farivar posted Dec 10th 2006 at 3:01PM

Thoroughly annoyed by Samsung's entry into the smartphone sector with its new BlackJack, RIM (maker of the BlackBerry, of course), has sued Sammie for trademark infringement in US Federal Court in Los Angeles. Oh, RIM, we understand that you want to protect your trademark over the BlackBerry name. But do you really, honestly, believe that just because another smartphone has the name "Black" in it, that throngs of people will rush out to buy the BlackJack when they meant to buy the BlackBerry? Or is this just a ploy to squeeze some money out of Samsung when you two finally settle this dispute? Yeah, that's what we thought. (Needless to say, Cingular must find this whole thing pretty hilarious.)

[Via Textually]

LG Chocolate U830 brings the HDSPA love

by Cyrus Farivar posted Dec 5th 2006 at 12:56PM

LG's Chocolate just got a little sweeter, with the recent addition of HSDPA to that fantastic flip phone. The U830, its new designation, is loaded up with all sorts of other tasty treats, including 185MB of storage, a 2 megapixel shooter, stereo Bluetooth, three hours of talk time, 300 hours of standby time, and a music player (with 3.5mm headphones included!) -- all of this is pretty much what we'd seen rumored a few months ago. It'll first exclusively hit Hutchinson's 3 network in the UK, but we've got no further information as to when (or if) it'll be crossing the pond.

[Via AVING]

Japanese hotels to alert guests of imminent fire via SMS

by Cyrus Farivar posted Dec 5th 2006 at 12:58AM

As much as we love SMSing (ok, not as much as this guy) and all the oddities surrounding this now essential part of 21st century life, it often enters our lives in really ridiculous ways. According to Japan Today, the national Fire and Disaster Management Agency is giving software to the nation's hotels so each establishment can alert its guests by SMS or email when there's a fire on the premesis. Apparently the logic goes that elderly hotel guests who leave their phone on vibrate won't hear a normal ring, not to mention a fire alarm klaxon, but will have the presence of mind to check for incoming SMSes. We haven't heard yet if you can text the fire department or the FDMA for help, though.

[Via Techdirt]

It's official: YouTube and Verizon ink deal

by Cyrus Farivar posted Nov 28th 2006 at 4:50PM

Well folks, we told you just over three weeks ago about "advanced talks" between Verizon and YouTube, and it looks like as of today, the two lovebirds have just tied the knot officially. with their joint service will launch next month. However, there are a couple of points to take stock of: first, it's exclusively on Verizon, which means it's going to run on V CAST -- costing you an extra $15 a month, that is, assuming you have a V CAST-capable handset. (According to one analyst, Roger Entner, only about 10 percent of Verizon's 20 million users with such phones have signed up for the service so far.) Second, Verizon's exclusivity is only going to be for "a short time," and it's more than likely that T-Mobile, Sprint, Cingular and friends have already been knocking at YouTube's door. Third, as you probably know, YouTube is a two-way street (you know, that whole "user-generated" thing we've been hearing so much about) and as such, Reuters is reporting that you'll be able to post videos directly from your handset with the use of a "five-digit short code instead of an email address." Finally, the Mercury News points out that you won't have access to all of YouTube, just what Verizon decides that you'll want via its proprietary YouTube channel. So that means you can probably forget about catching episodes of "Ask A Ninja" on your bus ride home. Still, diluted YouTube is better than no YouTube; we can almost hear thousands of freshly-bought VX9900s flipping open to check out the content already.

Read - Reuters
Read - San Jose Mercury News

Clipcomm BS-T100V converts VoIP to your mobile via Bluetooth

by Cyrus Farivar posted Nov 26th 2006 at 11:23PM

With Skype and other assorted VoIP services getting more and more popular, you might be eyeing one of those new handsets we've been showing your for the last few months. However, some of you might have wondered why you'd want to buy another handset when you probably have a perfectly good cellphone with the necessary internals to do the job, right? You're in luck, as such a product just debuted at the VoIP / IPTV World 2006 expo in Korea: Clipcomm's BS-T100V will convert your home VoIP service and send it over Bluetooth to your celly, letting you talk up a storm without using a ton of those precious minutes. (Of course, if you're a T-Mobile customer in Seattle, you could get HotSpot @Home right now.) As happy as this product makes us, we still can't get too excited yet given that we don't know what it'll cost, nor if it'll ever make it across that bigger pond to the West.

[Via AVING]

Sony, Ericsson aim for TV on mobiles by 2008

by Cyrus Farivar posted Nov 26th 2006 at 7:22AM

While Sony's been dealing with exploding batteries, PS3 craziness and now a recall for some Cyber-shot cams, the Japanese behemoth's handset division is trying to expand into the mobile television sector by partnering with Ericsson. Already the two form a significant presence in cellphones with the Sony Ericsson brand, and they hope to continue that with television as well. Per Nordlof, Ericsson's director of Product Strategy, said at a press conference in Stockholm on Thursday that a third of the world's mobile phone users will be watching TV on their handsets on a regular basis by 2008 -- something the folks at Qualcomm and others are thinking, too, with MediaFLO and the like. According to The Associated Press, the corporate duo is also working on a way to send clips from your living room's TV directly to a handset. Of course, if you don't want to wait until 2008, you could just buy a Slingbox or a Sony LVTV Box right now for the same effect.

Read - Reuters
Read - The Associated Press

Verizon Samsung U620 loaded up with MediaFLO mobile TV

by Cyrus Farivar posted Nov 15th 2006 at 3:16PM

Hang on to your handsets, fellas, because we've got a hot one that's just come over the transom. Verizon's going to be releasing a slider called the U620, which will come with VCAST Mobile TV, the rebranding of the MediaFLO mobile television service that is poised to go tête à tête with Vue. Beyond that, you've got some EV-DO data, stereo Bluetooth, a 1.3 megapixel cam, a MicroSD card slot, and speech-to-text voice recognition action up in there as well. While this scant info may just seem like a tease, it's all we've been able to glean from the depths of the interwebs for the time being -- as usual, we'll update as best we can.

Moto Q in Black hits the Great White North

by Cyrus Farivar posted Nov 13th 2006 at 1:02PM

Well folks, it appears that our friends to the north have greased Motorola's palms with a few extra loonies, eh. Indeed, the northerly division of Motorola will be the first company to launch the new Moto Q in Black, available exclusively from Bell Canada. This new piece of ebony elegance comes with all the same features you'd expect from the previous Q: EV-DO, 2.4-inch screen, 65,000 colors, 64MB RAM / 128MB ROM, and a 1.3 megapixel camera. It's basically the same as the old Q, except that it's black (duh), with a soft touch finish. It's available for C$150 ($132) with a new voice plan, and minimum C$60 ($53) data package on a three-year contract. To our American countrymen and countrywomen who are already making a run for the border, a word of advice: that same trick with the loonies probably won't work with US Customs when you try to smuggle it into the lower 48. Instead, just sit tight and wait until this handset hits Verizon -- sometime soon, we hope.

Motorola gets its push on, acquires Good Technology

by Cyrus Farivar posted Nov 10th 2006 at 1:26PM

Good Technology, the push e-mail mobile software company (think of it as RIM without the hardware, if you prefer), has just been acquired by Motorola for an undisclosed amount. Motorola previously had a business relationship with Good, and uses its mobile messaging software on Motorola -- but now, things get a little more interesting, given that consumers may have a choice between BlackBerry Connect or Good software on a Motorola Windows Mobile device. It's also curious that RIM and Motorola seem primed for a titanic clash, given that Big Mama Moto, a traditional ordinary-consumer company, seems to be encroaching on RIM's corporate customers with devices like the Q Pro, while our Canadian enterprise-focused friends are coming straight at John Q. Public with the Pearl. The deal is expected to close in 2007, given the Feds approve and all that jazz. As of this writing, Motorola stock rose on the news 0.84 percent to 21.37.

[Thanks, Vince M.]

Read - Good/Motorola press release
Read - Reuters

Globalstar GSP-1700 satphone also loaded with EV-DO

by Cyrus Farivar posted Nov 9th 2006 at 4:39PM

Generally, when Engadget editors hit the road, we make do with our ordinary GSM handsets for voice calls, but that strategy doesn't always work when we're reporting from, say, the rural fringes of Kazakhstan. Today, satellite phone manufacturer Globalstar just announced the GSP-1700, the company's smallest satphone to date, weighing just 7.1 oz (203 g) and 43 percent smaller by volume. In addition, this Qualcomm handset packs an EV-DO modem, so you can get high-speed data access from "virtually anywhere you can see sky," according to the company's website. The GSP-1700 also stays loaded for four hours of talk time and 36 hours of standby time on a single charge. We're not sure on the price of this handset, but given that its predecessor, the GSP-1600 goes for $750 (without a service plan), it's a safe bet that this one will go for at least that much when it's released "in the coming months."

NTP sues Palm; RIM seen quietly snickering

by Cyrus Farivar posted Nov 6th 2006 at 4:44PM

Given that it's been six months since we last heard from NTP, we figured that the company had taken its $612 million, paid its hefty legal fees, and moved onto something more productive -- like sitting on a private Caribbean island drinking umbrella-laden cocktails all day. Unfortunately, we neglected to take into account NTP's limitless desire for suing other companies dry. So, still needing more money, NTP has filed a patent infringement suit against Palm in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, alleging in a press release that "Palm's products, services, systems and processes infringe NTP's patents." In a related matter, Scrooge McDuck is suing NTP for infringing his patent on a gold coin-filled swimming room.

[Via Reuters]

Nokia wants you to bump your music transparently

by Cyrus Farivar posted Nov 1st 2006 at 8:36PM

We know it's getting cold again in Europe these days, but Nokia wants to make your phone the hottest boombox this side of Espoo. We're not sure how it works, nor how many D batteries it requires, but apparently it'll let you hook up your Nokia phone (no word on other handsets) and blast your tunes to your friends, all with transparent plasticy style. Also, we've also got no idea how many Euros it'll take for you to enjoy this transparent ghetto-blaster -- but really, just how many ghettos are there in Finland, anyway?

[Via Core77]

Vodafone, TomTom partner to create real-time traffic data network

by Cyrus Farivar posted Oct 27th 2006 at 5:54PM

Everyone who's ever been stuck in traffic always would love to know exactly what the road conditions are like. Sure there's those news radio stations that interrupt every three minutes to tell you how the freeway you're on is totally backed up, but those often don't tell you how to route yourself around the problem. TomTom and Vodafone have just partnered to create a new type of commercial traffic data system based on thousands of mobile phones that will describe traffic conditions in real-time. The idea is that by using the regular signaling information between the handset and the base station, the location and speed of the handset can be determined at any given time. Combine that information across a region among thousands of drivers who become data points, and a picture emerges of how backed a given freeway really is -- enabling TomTom to provide detours much more quickly than previously possible. The program is set to be launched in the Netherlands in the second half of 2007 -- so for all you folks who commute into the Dutch metropolises of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht, you may want to renew your Vodafone subscription pronto.

[Via Reg Hardware]