news story

Apple and IBM team up against Microsoft

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 06:59:58 -0500

Lotus Notes is coming to the iPhone and iPod Touch, and both Apple and IBM hope that the result will make you want Microsoft solutions a little bit less. If the mere presence of the new client isn't enough to convince you, the price might: $39 per client for new customers, and no charge at all for customers who've already implemented Lotus Web-access. The benefit for IBM is obvious; for Apple, it's increasing the perception that the iPhone is a good enterprise-class platform. For customers, it could mean having a good excuse for buying an iPhone on the company tab. Sounds like a win-win-win to me.

For more on the new Notes client for iPhones:
- Read the whole news story at DailyTechRag

A year-end look at the future of wireless

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 06:59:56 -0500

We've reached the end of 2007, and now it's time to look ahead to what we'll see in the wireless marketplace for the coming year. According to a panel of experts, some of the factors controlling news in 2008 will be:

Google will continue to push into many aspects of wireless communications.
The 700 MHz spectrum auction will open more than just another radio band--it could open an entirely new wireless business model.
The WiMAX build-out will either accelerate or come to a halt. Many experts think that WiMAX faces a narrowing window of opportunity before 4G cellular data arrives--in 2008, we'll know whether the believers are ready to put up towers.
Wireless devices will get faster and more capable as we move into the Wireless 2.0 universe of technology and expectations.

There's much more--you can use the information to plan you year, or to set up an office pool on which technologies will really win in the coming year.

For more on a wireless 2008:
- Read the prognostications at WirelessWeek

JetBlue's high-altitude WiFi

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 06:59:58 -0500

It hasn't been very long since the FCC first said "yes" to the idea of in-flight WiFi (at the same time they were saying "no" to in-flight cell-phone calls). Now, JetBlue is set to begin testing WiFi on a plane, albeit in a very limited way: on a single Airbus airplane on a single route across the country, JetBlue will allow Yahoo email and instant messaging, and activity from certain Blackberry devices. Limited bandwidth (with some market testing thrown in) is the reason for the limits--will this be the first in a long series of WiFi implementations in the air or as far as the WiFi experiment goes? Stay tuned.

For more on the JetBlue WiFi experiment:
- Read the news story at DailyTechRag

Google will make 700 Mhz bid

Mon, 03 Dec 2007 06:59:58 -0500

It's time for the rumors to stop and, well, for the new rumors to begin. It's finally confirmed--Google will take part in the 700 Mhz spectrum auction set for January 2008. According to chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt, it's time for the search giant to, "…put our money where our principles are. In further public statements, Google has said that their participation is all about customer choice. Most industry observers believe that it's at least a little bit about providing an avenue for moving Google to a new platform. We may find out beginning in a few weeks…

For more on the Google spectrum bid:
- Read the news story at DailyTechRag

Ingenuity wins over disaster

Mon, 03 Dec 2007 06:59:57 -0500

The recent fires in southern California had profound, sometimes tragic, impacts on the lives and businesses of hundreds of thousands of people. Now, as enterprises and governments begin to analyze their response to the fires, it's becoming obvious that some organizations were able to continue operating at more-normal levels than others, often because key technology and management personnel used ingenuity and available network resources to keep the business moving forward. InnovaSystems and Sony Electronics joined organizations like the Poway school district in using technology including reverse 911 to notify families and employees of plans and status, and to keep operations as close to a normal footing as possible. Reading the accounts of ingenuity in action may help inform your future business continuity operations.

For more on responding to disaster:
- Read the operational account at eWeek

Mobile Firefox frees handsets

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 06:59:58 -0400

It was easy to get the feeling of freedom when wireless devices started accessing the Web, but users still tend to be locked into the browser that came pre-loaded on their smartphone. Oh, sure, some pioneers loaded Opera Mini to take the load off of their hand-held device, but most remained faithful to their phone's browser. The folks at Mozilla, however, want to bring browser freedom to the masses, and they've announced Firefox Mobile to accompany all the on-device portals and applications now being delivered. Look for downloads starting later this year.

For more on Mobile Firefox:
- read the complete news story at NetworkWorld

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

Nokia asks to bar Qualcomm

Mon, 20 Aug 2007 06:59:56 -0400

It's been an interesting year for Qualcomm. First, there was the Broadcom lawsuit that resulted in a ban on some Qualcomm chips in the U.S. Next came the Nokia dispute, with each company accusing the other of patent infringement and license violation. Now, Nokia has taken a page from the Broadcom playbook and has asked the U.S. International Trade Commission to ban certain Qualcomm chipsets from the U.S. Don't think you should be worried? Qualcomm chips are in many of the most popular smartphones and 3G cell phones sold in the U.S.--maybe in the ones that your users have in their pockets. Oh, and Qualcomm's suit against Nokia? A judge has put it on indefinite hold.

For more on the Nokia/Qualcomm dispute:
- read the analysis at eWeek

Missed opportunity for open wireless?

Mon, 13 Aug 2007 06:59:56 -0400

You can't say that the opportunity wasn't there. The FCC had the chance to mandate truly open access for the spectrum being vacated when television goes digital in 2009. They accepted, sort of; they declined, sort of. Their decisions seemed to seek a balance between the open market of the Google and FCC chairman Kevin Martin and the traditional auction rules beloved by the wireless carrier market. There are those, including the writer of this column, who say that the FCC missed a once-in-a generation chance to change the way that we think about commercial spectrum. The question, for customers, is whether that's a good or a bad thing.

For more on the possible lost opportunity:
- read the opinion at CIO-Today

Sybase says future is mobile

Mon, 13 Aug 2007 06:59:56 -0400

It might be going a bit too far to suggest that Sybase is remaking itself as a wireless software or services company, but it's undeniable that wireless applications and technology are key to the company's vision for the future. Sybase has been busy pointing out the progress made in its UnWired Enterprise initiatives--progress that includes new architectural components for developing and supporting mobile applications, and a partnership with HTC for building devices based on the platform. Sybase says that their future is open, flexible, and standards-based--and that the future will be mobile.

For more on Sybase's future:
- read the technology analysis at eWeek.com
- and follow that with the CEO interview, also at eWeek.com