Wireless
Microsoft replays Zune design for phone comeback
February 23, 2010 10:05 am | News | CommentsApple Inc. rocked the wireless business by combining the functions of a phone and an iPod. Now, more than two years later, Microsoft Corp. has its comeback: phone software that works a lot like its own Zune media player.
Wireless carriers unite on mobile apps project
February 23, 2010 10:02 am | News | CommentsThe world's largest mobile phone carriers say they're joining forces to make it easier for software developers to write apps that will run on as many phones as possible. The "Wholesale Applications Community" announced Monday at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona is an attempt to retake the initiative from phone makers like Apple and Nokia, which have applications stores of their own.
Samsung unveils new smart phone with own software
February 23, 2010 9:52 am | News | CommentsSamsung Electronics Co., the largest maker of cell phones for the U.S. market, on Sunday revealed the first phone running Samsung's own "smart" software system, bada. With bada, Korea-based Samsung is taking the TouchWiz system used on its touch-screen non-smart phones and making it the basis of a smart phone platform to take on Apple Inc.'s iPhone and Research In Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry.
Skype allowed over Verizon wireless network
February 23, 2010 9:39 am | News | CommentsVerizon Wireless will let customers use the Internet phone service Skype to make free calls on some phones, an application that wireless carriers have been slow to allow. Under a deal announced Tuesday at the Mobile World Congress trade show, users of some Verizon phones who have a voice and data plan will be able to download a free Skype application in late March. That will let them call or instant-message other Skype users for free or call regular phone numbers outside the United States for a fee paid to Skype.
40 percent in US lack home broadband
February 23, 2010 9:34 am | News | CommentsRoughly 40 percent of Americans do not have high-speed Internet access at home, according to new Commerce Department figures that underscore the challenges facing policymakers who are trying to bring affordable broadband connections to everyone. The Obama administration and Congress have identified universal broadband as a key to driving economic development, producing jobs and bringing educational opportunities and cutting-edge medicine to all corners of the country.
CEO: Google's Mobile Moment Has Come
February 23, 2010 9:27 am | News | CommentsGoogle's Chief Executive Eric Schmidt declared the age of the mobile phone had come as volume, growth and new capabilities had come together in an unprecedented way. Speaking for the first time at Mobile World Congress, the telecom industry's biggest annual fair, Schmidt said the point has come where the best developers wanted to create applications for mobile devices first, before thinking about desktop PCs.
Smartphones offer problems for networks
February 23, 2010 9:23 am | News | CommentsGoogle must not be allowed to dominate and block cash from flowing more widely through the mobile telecoms system or else the network operators will not be able to invest to cope with the growing demand for data traffic, Vodafone said on Tuesday. Vittorio Colao, chief executive of the world's largest cellphone networks operator, told the Mobile World Congress trade fair in Barcelona that instead new business models needed to be created to cope with the demand for data services.
Kopin, Stonestreet Team Up For Golden-i Headset
February 23, 2010 9:18 am | News | CommentsStonestreet One, a leading provider of Bluetooth software solutions since 2000, has partnered with Kopin® Corporation , the largest U.S. manufacturer of micro displays for consumer, industrial and military applications, on the development of Kopin’s Golden-i Headset and Developer Kits. The Golden-i Developer Kits officially launched at the Mobile World Congress 2010 in Barcelona, Spain. Stonestreet One was selected by Kopin to provide the Bluetooth protocol stack software for the Golden-i platform.
IMAPS Gives Details of MicroTech Conference
February 23, 2010 9:10 am | News | CommentsThe International Microelectronics And Packaging Society is pleased to announce details of the forthcoming MicroTech-2010 Conference featuring “Disruptive Technologies” APM featuring “Advanced Polymer, Organic & Inorganic Materials” being held at the well known Cambridge University Møller Centre. The location is ideally placed near many of the forward thrusting new and established companies as well as at a great historic city.
Looks can't kill but might control your phone
February 23, 2010 8:49 am | News | CommentsThe advent of wireless headsets has led to the sometimes confusing sight of people who look like they're talking to themselves, until you realize they're on a phone call. If a technology demonstration by NTT DoCoMo goes anywhere, we may have to get ready for another odd sight: people who quickly flick their gaze sideways and roll their eyes for no apparent reason.
Imec and Holst Centre achieve breakthrough in battery-less radios
February 22, 2010 11:24 am | News | CommentsAt the International Solid State Circuit Conference, imec and Holst Centre reported a 2.4GHz/915MHz wake-up receiver which consumes only 51µW power.
Bluetooth low energy module employs Nordic µBlue chip
February 22, 2010 11:10 am | News | CommentsUltra low power (ULP) RF specialist Nordic Semiconductor ASA announced that further to the Bluetooth SIG's official adoption of Bluetooth® low energy (as part of the latest Bluetooth Version 4.0 Core Specification), French multi-die system-in-package (SiP) design specialists, Insight SiP, has released the world's first drop-in single mode Bluetooth low energy SiP module.
Zigbee Offers More Options
February 22, 2010 9:22 am | News | CommentsThe ZigBee Alliance, a global ecosystem of companies creating wireless solutions for use in energy management, residential, commercial and consumer electronics applications, today announced it is now offering certification for ZigBee platforms designed to operate in the regional sub-1 GHz unlicensed frequencies. The move ensures original equipment manufacturers a source of tested platforms for use in sub-1 GHz applications.
Sub-Miniature TCXO Capable of Holding Sub 1 ppm Stabilities
February 12, 2010 9:25 am | Product Releases | CommentsConnor-Winfield’s D32G Series of 3.2 mm x 2.5 mm SMT temperature compensated crystal oscillators (TCXOs) use analog temperature compensation to hold
Oxford Technology Offers Secure Electronic Payment Via Mobile Phones
February 12, 2010 4:34 am | by Kelly Jackson Higgins - DarkReading | News | CommentsResearchers from the University of Oxford have created a protocol for making electronic payments via mobile phones.
Multichannel RF Signal Generator Touted as Highly Configurable
February 12, 2010 4:33 am | Product Releases | CommentsRF Engines Limited (RFEL) has developed a 32 channel RF signal generator that is designed to enable challenging RF environments to be recreated in labs to test RF equipment. The PCI Upconverter is a flexible and configurable system that
Illuminated Pushbutton Switch Offers Custom Cap Options
February 11, 2010 5:10 am | Product Releases | CommentsE-Switch introduced the LP15 series illuminated pushbutton switch, featuring multiple LED colors, custom marking options for the caps, and several cap sizes. The LED colors available are red, blue, green, yellow, and white. Four different
Quad Channel Clock Generator FMC Card Features Low Jitter
February 11, 2010 4:52 am | Product Releases | CommentsCurtiss-Wright Controls Embedded Computing has introduced an FPGA Mezzanine Card (FMC/VITA 57) module, the FMC-XCLK2. The quad channel clock generator card features low jitter and phase matched outputs. It is available in both air-cooled and conduction-cooled rugged versions, and is said to
The role of wideband transceiver technology in enabling LTE
February 9, 2010 6:37 am | by Ebrahim Bushehri, CEO, Lime Microsystems | Articles | CommentsLong term evolution (LTE) is firmly on course to be the dominant wireless communications standard in the next decade. There is overwhelming operator commitment to adopting the LTE standard and capitalising on the unquestionable benefits it will bring to their subscribers, even more so than was demonstrated for its 3G predecessors.
Barnes & Noble's Nook e-reader to hit stores
February 8, 2010 9:15 am | News | CommentsBookseller Barnes & Noble Inc said on Monday that its Nook electronic reader would be available in most of its physical stores as of Wednesday, ahead of Valentine's Day, ending weeks of delays. The Nook e-reader, which Barnes & Noble launched in October and competes with devices such as Amazon.com Inc's Kindle, had previously only been available for order on the retailer's website or at in-store kiosks as the No. 1 U.S. bookstore chain struggled to meet what it said in late 2009 was strong demand for the e-reader.
Macmillan Books Coming Back to Amazon
February 8, 2010 8:30 am | News | CommentsAfter a weeklong absence, new copies of Andrew Young's "The Politician," Hilary Mantel's "Wolf Hall" and other books published by Macmillan are available for purchase on Amazon.com. Since last Friday, Amazon had limited the availability of Macmillan releases in a dispute over e-books, with Macmillan calling for a new pricing system that would end the $9.99 rate Amazon had been setting for best-sellers on its Kindle e-reader. Macmillan and other publishers believe $9.99 is too low and threatens the value of books overall.
GPS Module Presented as Enabling Rapid Navigation for Long Periods
February 5, 2010 1:26 pm | Product Releases | CommentsVincotech has launched modules based on the latest SiRFstarIV technology. The A2100 GPS receiver module is built around the new GSD4e chip with sophisticated firmware. The special SiRFawareTM technology is said to allow the module to be in a state of readiness at all times thereby enabling
Electromechanical modules: More than just the switch
February 4, 2010 10:36 am | by David Webber, Director of Product Development, C&K Components | Articles | CommentsToday, switch manufacturers are no longer developing just the switch. Original equipment manufacturers are frequently requesting that switch manufacturers develop the complete module, which may include an electro-mechanical switch or sensor, complementary electronics, a source of illumination, and a means of connection.
USB Type A Female Connector is Field Terminable
February 4, 2010 5:46 am | Product Releases | CommentsL-com Global Connectivity, a leading manufacturer of wired and wireless connectivity products, today announced the availability of a field-terminable version of a USB Type A Female connector. The new connector comes with screw flanges for
Handheld Vector Network Analyzer Touts High Accuracy
February 4, 2010 5:40 am | Agilent Technologies | Product Releases | CommentsAgilent Technologies’ N9923A FieldFox RF Vector Network Analyzer (VNA) is presented as the world's most accurate handheld VNA. The FieldFox RF VNA provides 0.01 dB/degree Celsius measurement stability to minimize drift errors, and it offers
