Samsung

Nokia completes acquisition of Symbian

Paul Mah — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 11:26:19 -0500

Nokia has completed the acquisition of the world's biggest smartphone operating system company, according to Symbian Limited, the software company that develops and licenses the Symbian OS. Yes, that means Nokia now owns more than 99.9 percent of the above-mentioned company, having purchased the requisite shares from shareholders such as Samsung, Sony Ericsson, and Motorola, among other former shareholders. As part of the changes, all Symbian employees are also planned to become Nokia employees as of February 1, 2009.

With the acquisition in place, the establishment of the announced Symbian Foundation looks set for smooth sailing. This also means that the first handsets based on the open-sourced Symbian operating system appear to be on track for the slated releases in 2010, as announced previously. For those new to the scene, the Symbian Foundation will consists of companies such as AT&T, Texas Instruments, Motorola and others, and is formed for joint work to create a royalty-free operating system.

With the fast moving mobile and smartphone landscape, it's still up in the air whether or not this deal can stunt the growth of other mobile platforms, notably that of Apple's the iPhone, and Google's own open-sourced Android platform.

To read more about this story:
- check out this article from CNET News
- check out this article from Unwired View

Kodak sues LG and Samsung over integrated digital cameras in phones

Paul Mah — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 12:47:43 -0500

Eastman Kodak Co. is taking both LG and Samsung to court over infringement of their patents relating to the integrated digital cameras in mobile phones. The company is seeking an injunction to bar the defendants from continuing to sell camera phones, as well as unspecified compensatory damages. Kodak alleges that two of its patents are violated, one involving the use of image compression and digital storage, and the other pertaining to the creation of thumbnail images to speed up the display of pictures on digital cameras. It is clear that Kodak intends to leverage its IP to the hilt in order to generate profit--even as the company's previous core business in traditional film crashed with the popularity of digital cameras. At the end of the day, the question probably boils down to nothing more than disagreements over the amount of royalty and licensing fees that Kodak is after.

To read more on the article:
- check out this article from Ars Technica

Samsung starts mass producing 128GB SSD

Paul Mah — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 12:02:46 -0400

Samsung has started mass producing 128GB solid-state drives (SSD) in both 1.8-inch and 2.5-inch versions. A 256GB version is expected to enter production sometime later this year. Prices for the 128GB drives were not available at the moment. On the technical end, the SSDs consume about 0.5 watts in active mode, and just 0.2 watts in standby mode. The attraction here lies in their low power consumption, which paves the way for higher capacity gadgets and laptops that carry a longer battery life.

Samsung claims that its 128GB drive will last 20-times longer than a conventional laptop hard disk. Whatever the case, you can expect the prices of flash drives to drop as more manufacturers switch to full-scale production.

For more on Samsung's SSD:
- check out this article from PC World

ALSO NOTED: HP 2133 Mini-Note gets delayed; Minneapolis give Muni-WiFi hope;

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 06:59:50 -0400

> HP 2133 Mini-Note gets delayed. Article
> Google on Android: open ecosystems lead to innovation. Article
> AT&T/Starbucks WiFi rollout begins. Article
> Unlimited voice and data plans force carriers to upgrade. Article
> Minneapolis give Muni-WiFi hope. Article

And Finally... Samsung announces water-powered phone. Article

Sprint to launch new push-to-talk devices

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 06:59:57 -0400

It's been pretty quiet on the Sprint push-to-talk front for a while now, at least as far as new devices are concerned. But if Sprint CEO Dan Hesse's comments during his CTIA keynote are to be believed, the company will be reviving its push-to-talk line shortly with a slew of new devices. Unlike the previous Nextel network, the new push-to-talk service will run over Sprint's EV-DO Rev. A network and will only require one number, which can be used for both mobile calls and PTT. New devices from Motorola, Samsung, Sanyo and LG will support this new service and will launch later this year. While that's all well and good, enterprise folks will be most excited to hear that the company also plans to launch a new WiFi-equipped BlackBerry device that will support PTT, though this device will run on Nextel's iDEN network, not Sprint's EV-DO network.

For more on the announcement:
- see this CTIA Live story

Microsoft announces Windows Mobile 6.1

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 07:59:58 -0400

While Windows Mobile 6.1's existence hasn't exactly been kept secret, it's still nice to see it out in the open: During his CTIA keynote yesterday, Microsoft President of Entertainment and Devices Robert Bach (pictured above, more photos here), officially announced the coming update to the company's mobile operating system. Among the improvements that you can expect are a more streamlined home screen, threaded SMS and easier device setup. And no, you won't have to buy a new device or resort to hackery to get Windows Mobile 6.1 in your pocket: Carriers like Alltel, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile and device manufacturers including HTC, Samsung, Motorola and Pantech have announced that there will be an officially-supported upgrade path for many of their most popular devices. This is good news for owners of handsets such as the AT&T Tilt, the Sprint Mogul and the Pantech Duo, all of which will see upgrades starting this quarter.

For more on the upgrade:
- see this Engadget article

Four new Verizon phones

Mon, 08 Oct 2007 06:59:58 -0400

Unwilling to let AT&T run away with the "cool phone" title, Verizon is keeping up the phone flood, with four new instruments aimed at diverse groups, from music lovers to enterprise application and email users. The Verizon Wireless Juke, from Samsung, has a keyboard and Bluetooth plus support for multi-format music files. The Blackberry Pearl 8130 is a road-warrior's companion, with EV-DO network support, GPS, and the familiar Blackberry interface. LG's Voyager has a full QWERTY keypad, a web browser, and full media capabilities for a package that makes it the most direct competitor to the iPhone. Finally, the LG Venus hits the street with dual screens and vibrating feedback for keyclicks. The phone wars are heating up, and that can be nothing but good for consumers.

For more on Verizon's new phone lineup:
- read the complete news story at DailyTechRag
- and check out a slideshow of the new phones

Nine wireless companies of the future

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 06:59:56 -0400

It's easy enough to pick wireless partners today: look for the big wireless service providers and major equipment vendors (with names like Motorola, Nokia, LG, or Samsung) and you can have a safe deployment history in most cases. What about companies for future partnerships? This article features nine companies you should keep on your radar screen. If names like a la Mobile, emoze, Formotus, and Kore Telematics aren't familiar, you have some homework to do.

For more on up and coming companies:
- read the in-depth report at NetworkWorld

QUICKLINKS: AirMagnet analyzes VoWLAN traffic; Samsung passing Motorola in wireless

Sun, 15 Jul 2007 20:01:35 -0400

> AirMagnet analyzes VoWLAN traffic. Article

> Samsung passing Motorola in wireless. Article

> Nokia gaining from Motorola struggles. Article

> Freeh likes Frontline plan. Article

Getting inside the iPhone

Sun, 08 Jul 2007 20:01:37 -0400

Ah, curiosity. It drove thousands of people to buy an Apple iPhone. It also drove a handful to take their iPhones apart to find out what makes them tick, or beep, or play videos. What did they discover? A processor and memory from Samsung, a wireless chip from Marvell, and a case that comes apart far more easily than it goes back together. What can you learn from their exploration? Some companies are learning how much the components cost, exactly what goes into the device, and (just maybe) how to make a phone that's as close to an iPhone as laws and regulations will allow.

For more on the iPhone's insides:
- read the hands-on article at eWeek