ROW Short Takes

Nokia and Motorola continue to capture the lion’s share of cell phone shipments with second quarter 2006 the market share figure nearly hitting 55%, according to Q2 estimates from IDC. Motorola saw huge jump in handset shipments and this is largely attributed to stellar sales of its RAZR handset and surprising popularity of iDEN devices. While many thought this could be the year that one billion handsets would be shipped, the research firm suggests the industry will fall just short. As of the end of the second quarter, 470.1 million handsets had been shipped, according to IDC’s estimates.Source: Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, IDC, July 2006 As the table clearly demonstrates, smartphone usage varies depending on region. While a significantly higher percentage of smartphone users in France and the United Kingdom have sent a photo or video with their device, those in the Untied States have a greater penchant for accessing news and information.Source: M:Metrics’ survey of mobile subscribers; data based on three month moving average for period ending May 31, 2006. Intrinsyc launches power management solutionIntrinsyc Software International Inc. has launched a Microsoft Windows CE-based processor-level power management solution using ARM’s Intelligent Energy Manger software for mobile devices based on Freescale Semiconductor’s i.MX31 multimedia applications processor. The solution improves mobile battery life talk-time, standby-time and multimedia experience. "The need for longer battery life is critical in advanced multimedia mobile devices, particularly given the highly-integrated nature of many devices," said Kevin McIntyre, ARM’s product manager for IEM, in a news release. "Through its partnership with Intrinsyc, ARM will be able to deliver IEM technology to increase battery life by up to 25% for mobile entertainment devices on the Windows CE operating system." Intrinsyc, a Microsoft gold partner, is a publicly-traded mobility software and services company headquartered in Vancouver. MTS wins Winnipeg wireless contractThe City of Winnipeg has selected MTS Allstream to provide the City and its employees with access to cell phones, wireless PC cards, BlackBerry handheld devices, cellular and wireless data airtime and related features as part of a 28-month contract. "From police officers and firefighters, to community service workers and planners, city staff are engaged every day in an incredible array of important, front-line services," said MTS Allstream’s president of consumer markets Kelvin Shepherd in a media release. "With this contract, they will have continued access to all of our latest wireless innovations, including our 1xEvDO network." The City of Winnipeg has approximately 8,300 employees with an operating budget of about $700 million, and City staff currently use about 2,000 wireless devices and cell phones. The contract is effective August 1, 2006. Canadian Government selects RAMTelecom for networkRAMTelecom Inc., a satellite service provider that delivers solutions for broadband data and voice business communications, has been chosen by the Government of Canada to create and support a satellite service network to provide high-speed data and voice services for remote federal government offices across the country. The initial 36-month, $600,000 contract requires RAMTelecom to create a new broadband network that may include up to 25 sites. "Most of the remote sites in the proposed network have nothing more than basic telephone service today, so the introduction of RAMTelecom’s broadband satellite service will upgrade these remote areas to the same level of capability as major federal government offices across the country with a highly secure and reliable network," said Ralph Misener, CEO of RAMTelecom, in a new release. TrueContext wins Microsoft partner awardOttawa-based TrueContext Corp., the provider for the Rogers mForms mobile forms software-as-a-service, has been selected by Microsoft as its Mobility Solutions Technology Innovator Partner of the Year for 2006. Microsoft’s worldwide partners submitted more than 2,400 entries and TrueContext was chosen as the winner in the Mobility Solutions category based on its use of Microsoft technologies to solve their customers’ mobility needs. "TrueContext delivered outstanding customer service and technical innovation to meet customer needs with solutions based on Microsoft technology," said Allison Watson, corporate VP of the worldwide partner group at Microsoft, in a news release. Freescale, Wavesat team up on WiMax effortFreescale Semiconductor and Wavesat Inc. are collaborating to deliver a reference platform solution for WiMAX-enabled customer premises equipment CPE. "The combined WiMAX CPE reference platform from Freescale and Wavesat is designed to enable a converged wired/wireless business and residential gateway solution," said David Perkins, senior VP and GM of Freescale’s networking and computing systems group, in a press release. The solution combines Wavesat’s WiMAX chipsets, Mini-PCI design and CPE MAC software with Freescale’s turnkey reference boards. According to market research firm In-Stat, the number of fixed WiMAX subscribers is projected to reach 16 million by 2010, while mobile subscribers will range from 15 million to 25 million. Verizon Wireless picks Nortel for broadband networkNortel Networks Corp. has been selected to supply Verizon Wireless with CDMA 1xEvDO Revision (Rev.) A technology. The upgrade will provide data speeds that are significantly faster than current capabilities and will meet customer demands for more high-bandwidth wireless services like VoIP, video telephony and advanced multimedia applications. "Successful trials of EvDO Rev. A have demonstrated the technology’s potential for taking the Verizon Wireless broadband experience to a new level," said Verizon Wireless’ VP of network planning Ed Salas in a news release. Nortel’s EvDO Rev. A is capable of providing peak data rates of up to 3.1 Mbps on the forward link and up to 1.8 Mbps on the reverse link. Redline, O’Connor’s bring WiMax solutions to MalaysiaO’Connor’s Engineering has signed an agreement to distribute RedMax, the WiMAX Forum Certified family of products from Markham ON-based Redline Communications, in Malaysia. The oil and gas sector in Malaysia continues to see unprecedented demand for broadband solutions that connect land-based facilities to oilrigs and platforms. With Redline’s products, O’Connor’s will be able to deliver wireless solutions that will support critical, remote pipeline operations, security, field monitoring, automation applications and emergency communications. Redline’s RedPath architecture roadmap allows operators to deploy WiMAX solutions and easily evolve with the standards and ecosystem as new technologies are introduced. Spectrum Signal Processing signs deal with MotorolaBurnaby BC-based Spectrum Signal Processing Inc. has announced a $500,000 agreement with Motorola Inc. for the supply of its flexComm SDR-3000 SMRDP. "This agreement is significant because it provides Spectrum with valuable insight into how the public safety and homeland security markets are adopting software defined radio and cognitive radio technologies," said Pascal Spothelfer, Spectrum’s CEO, in a news release. Spectrum’s SDR-3000 SMRDP is based upon its SDR-3000 software defined radio processing and analog-to-digital/digital-to-analog converter boards in a four slot 2U CompactPCI chassis. By sensing its RF environment and location, a cognitive radio is able to alter its power, frequency, modulation and other operating parameters to reuse whatever radio spectrum is available. Aeris.net expands Canadian footprintMachine-to-machine network services provider Aeris.net has agreed to a partnership with MTS Allstream Inc. in which it will expand its Canadian M2M footprint across MTS’ wireless network in Manitoba. "Wireless carriers should remain open to the potential impact M2M can have on business," said Kelvin Shepherd, MTS Allstream’s president of consumer markets, in a news release. "Aeris.net is a leader in the M2M space, and we are pleased to facilitate the expansion of their network." The San Jose CA-based Aeris.net has been aggressively expanding its digital coverage in Canada, anchored by an agreement with Bell Mobility in 2004. Its deployments across North America cover the trucking, fleet management, home security, high-value asset tracking and automotive industries. Grab & Go emergency communications from RoadpostRoadpost Inc. has made emergency portable satellite communications easier with the launch of its Grab & Go Emergency kit. The kit includes an Iridium satellite handset, extra batteries and a solar charger packaged in a rugged, waterproof and shockproof carrying case, and was developed in response to rapidly growing demand for easy-to-deploy communications during crisis situations. "In today’s world, businesses, emergency response personnel and NGO’s are increasingly concerned about maintaining communications during emergencies," said Morris Shawn, president and CEO of Roadpost, in a press release. "Roadpost’s Grab & Go approach…is ideally suited for organizations operating in high-risk areas as a way to ensure easy and rapid deployment of communications, especially when traditional landline and cellular networks are down." Grab & Go is the first in a series of emergency preparedness satellite offerings that Roadpost is developing. INTERNATIONAL BRIEFSZigbee to play big role in home monitoring networksWireless technology consultants Cambridge Consultants have demonstrated that ZigBee, a technology key for the burgeoning home automation and sensor networks markets, can also be used to implement sophisticated home monitoring networks for the elderly and vulnerable. Outfitting a person with a ZigBee node in combination with a network of nodes in a home, for example, will allow caregivers and family members to develop a "picture" of a person’s daily routine and the implementation of panic button systems. "Our demonstration of personal monitoring combined with position sensing illustrates that ZigBee provides a practical platform for every aspect of such systems, including sophisticated body sensor nodes," Cambridge Consultants analyst Paul Williamson said in a news release. Mobile WiMAX leading to smart antenna advancesWest Technology Research Solutions LLC (WTRS) says that smart antenna advances are being driven in part by mobile WiMAX. The independent market research firm suggests that because of the move to integrating multiple wireless protocols into the same device or even at the chip level, the need for smart antenna technology becomes even more important. Software defined radio will also benefit from the requirement for smarter antennas, according to WTRS. "Smart antenna technology will be one of the key underlying developments to enable software defined radio integration across FPGAs, GPPs and structured ASICs," WTRS founder and principal analyst Kirsten West said in a news release. Wi-Fi "N" standard battle continuesWork to finalize a Wi-Fi-like standard that would offer speed much faster than 802.11g is experiencing some turbulence as interested stakeholders are fighting to get their versions adopted. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) isn’t likely going to be able to settle this fight before mid next year. Despite the lack of a standard, companies are already selling "pre-N" wireless routers. Consumers should be aware that what they buy today, may not work with other wireless routers in the future as different technical parameters may be required in approved equipment.

ROW Short Takes

News | July 27, 2006

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