10:23 PM by faie in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

C/Net and ZD Net reported that IEEE has officially approve the 802.16-REVd/D5 (WiMax). However, products based on the finalized 802.16d standard are months away from the consumer market.

WiMax is designed to compensate for the range limitation of Wi-Fi, which cannot go beyond 100-300 feet. WiMax's range goes from 25 miles in a fixed network to 1-3 miles in a mobile (802.16e) configuration. It can use inexpensive base stations, utilizing an Ethernet (IP) backbone which is unlike the proprietary cellular backend currently being used by WiFi access points. It can use licensed (2.6 & 3.5GHz) and unlicensed (2.4 & 5 GHz) bands.

Whether WiMax will deliver true DSL and cable modem competition remains to be seen.

Full story is at dailywireless.org

07:26 AM by Colin Dunstan in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

With the number of global mobile subscribers passing the 1.5 billion mark in the first week of June, the industry looks set to break the two billion barrier by as early as July 2006.

Research from analyst EMC forecasts that the two billion milestone will be reached ahead of recent industry predictions, with global additions of more than 240 million subscribers in both 2004 and 2005.

Kester Mann, senior research analyst at EMC, said in a statement: "With a global mobile penetration rate of just 23 per cent there are still almost five billion potential new mobile users worldwide and this represents a tremendous opportunity for the industry."

Read more at 3G.co.uk .

06:16 AM by Colin Dunstan in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

It’s a long flight from Munich to San Francisco, even non-stop. But recently two enterprising Apple product managers cut the distance dramatically with a few at-hand tools: iChat AV, iSight, 17-inch PowerBook G4, an Airbus and an orbiting satellite.

In-air video conference at 35,000 feet - very, very cool! Btw, Lufthansa now offers Wi-Fi high-speed broadband connection service for $29.95/unlimited use during the flight.

05:40 AM by Colin Dunstan in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

A couple of days ago we discussed the emergence of fuel cells for notebooks and PDA's. Now, according to an article at the EETimes, Toshiba has announced the development of matchbox-sized direct methanol fuel cells with no moving parts, and plans to implement them in mobile devices.

The prototype measures 22 x 56 mm with a thickness of 4.5 mm and includes a 2-cc capacity fuel tank. The fuel cell weighs 8.5 grams, and has an output power of 100 mW. Using a 99.5-percent concentration of methanol, the fuel cell can power low-power consumption devices such as MP3 audio players for about 20 hours, Toshiba said.

Toshiba unveiled an active prototype to power notePCs last spring, and plans to introduce a product later this year. Could this be the beginning of a new area in the world of mobile gadgets? Think of the possibilities... read a full-length book without the need to recharge your PDA. Or spend a long-distance flight with watching two or even three full-length DivX movies...

05:20 AM by Colin Dunstan in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

A picture has been posted on TreoCentral which is apparently depicting the next generation Treo. It looks like someone with a cameraphone (you know those little toys that are going to be completely banned in the US soon...) when no one was looking. The Treo 610 (or "Next Generation Treo") will have a higher-resolution (320x320) than the current Treo, a faster CPU (312 MHz), and built-in Bluetooth. If you are more interested, check the TreoCentral article above for detailed specs.

04:30 AM by Alexander Turcic in Archive | iSilo/X

After a long beta-testing period, DC & Co released the new iSilo/X V4.05 today. The biggest change since V4.01 is a completely reworked document list view with hierarchical multiple-category support. You can find out about all changes here and here.

Download iSilo V4.05 from here and iSiloX V4.05 from here.

12:11 PM by ignatz in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Tungsten E dissection

This guy needed to improvise a fix to his T|E's down button and documented the work. Nice pics, including one shot indentifying many of the main components. I've been inside mine before as well and would like to emphasize that getting the case open is tricky! Be careful if you attempt it!

Guts and technical details of a T3

And this fellow is enamoured of his T3 and describes the technical details at some length. He also gives detailed instructions for opening one up. Interesting reading.

11:48 AM by Colin Dunstan in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Someone made photos of the new Motorola MPx and was nice enough to post them in a forum.

For those who do not know: The Motorola MPx aims to replace the multi-device syndrome by ingeniously blending the best of a mobile phone, personal data assistant (PDA) and email messenger in one easy-to-use compact device. By opening the device in landscape mode, Internet browsing, streaming video and access to corporate applications are all within easy reach using the Motorola MPx.

The device is expected to be available in the second half of 2004 for about about $1,300 USD.