ROW Short Takes

Mobile charger, battery backup flexes musclesIt has happened to everyone who owns a mobile device: just when you need it the most, the low-battery indicator starts blinking. You may find yourself in the middle of an important call or just about to make one when you realize the remaining juice in your wireless device will not last long enough. But for many of us who have found ourselves in this situation, rest assured that the little pink bunny which incessantly bangs on his drum has an affordable solution that – for some devices – works flawlessly. A few weeks ago, Energizer Holdings Inc., through its Canadian public relations firm, supplied Report on Wireless with four of its recently introduced Energi To Go instant cell phone chargers. Included in the package were four different chargers that would allow us to test the devices on handsets from Nokia, Motorola, Samsung as well as Research in Motion’s BlackBerry. What is novel about these instant wireless device chargers is that they are battery-powered, reusable and are small enough to carry around wherever you may go. Energizer recommended using its own Lithium AA batteries to power the small chargers.In an effort to put the devices through their paces, we passed them around the office to a number of people with different handsets. We asked them to run their cell phone battery down and then plug in the portable charger to determine how fast the cell phone was recharged. In nearly all cases, the Energi To Go instant cell phone chargers worked flawlessly.With Motorola’s RAZR and Samsung’s a900, users reported that the instant charger began replenishing their batteries within a few seconds and had a full charge on their cell phones in approximately two hours. Using the Energi To Go charger with the BlackBerry 7250 proved a little more problematic, however. When first plugged into the 7250, the battery charging indicator didn’t light up and after several hours, the charge on the 7250’s battery remained virtually unchanged. A second attempt, only this time turning the BlackBerry off, proved to be somewhat more successful. After leaving the instant charger plugged in for about five hours, the 7250 received about three-quarters of a full charge. Despite this problem encountered with the BlackBerry, the Energi To Go instant cell phone charger proved it is certainly worth the $27.95 suggested retail price to protect you from having a dead battery at the most inopportune time. MTS Mobility launches streaming TV and radio servicesMTS Allstream Inc. has teamed up with QuickPlay Media Inc. and Standard Interactive to develop two new mobile services, Streaming TV and Streaming Radio for MTS Mobility. The Streaming TV service, which is powered by QuickPlay’s Personal Entertainment Server, provides access to TV clips in a variety of categories, including weather forecasts, sports highlights, comedy clips, movie trailers and more. The Streaming Radio service, which was launched in association with Standard Interactive, offers more than 40 stations of digital-stereo, commercial-free music. Both offerings are available on multimedia compatible handsets. Subscription rates for both services at launch are $7 each month. Rogers, Fido let subscribers "Quebecize" their phonesRogers Wireless and Fido subscribers in Quebec are the first mobile customers to be able to download the latest ring tunes by Audiogram and Tacca Musique recording artists, including Bran Van 3000, Bia, Anick Jean, Lhasa de Sela, Jean Leloup and Dumas. "Rogers is the first operator in the province to make so much Quebec content available to wireless subscribers," said Sylvie Charette, senior director of marketing and communications at Rogers Wireless, in a press release. "The wireless telephone is a distribution medium that is currently gaining popularity around the world and, until today, in Quebec, much of the focus was put on international artists….We believe that Quebec has quality content to offer our subscribers." Mitec beefing up product portfolioMitec Telecom, a Montreal-based wireless equipment maker, has signed a letter of intent to acquire Comhat AB, a manufacturer of microwave radio antennas, filters, test equipment and other telecommunications gear. "The acquisition is consistent with Mitec’s strategy to expand its product portfolio, a key initiative in the corporation’s restructuring plan announced at the annual general meeting," Dan Piergentili, CEO of Mitec, said in a news release. Bell debuts MP3/FM radio cell phoneBell Mobility has introduced the new LG Fusic, an MP3 player and FM transmitter cell phone. The device, which is available only from Bell, gives users access to full track music downloads and also enables users to turn any FM stereo into their "personal broadcaster." Adel Bazerghi, VP of Bell Mobility, says "The LG Fusic is a perfect gift for the holiday season for the music lover that enjoys listening and sharing music, and wants to stay connected with family, friends and colleagues on the go." Mobile advertising set to skyrocket in the futureABI Research predicts that revenue from mobile advertising will grow at double-digit rates over the next five years. Despite the future promise of advertising delivered via mobile phones, its size dwarfs that of broadcast television advertising – US$1.9 billion compared to US$60 billion to US$70 billion in the US alone. Mobile advertising is an attractive proposition because the click-through rate compared to Internet banners is substantially higher. Mobile banner click throughs are in the range of 2% to 3% while Internet banner ads are about 0.2%. "There are very good reasons to use the mobile phone to reach consumers," Ken Hyers, a senior analyst at ABI Research says, adding that the cell phone is truly unique to the user. "That allows a more customized relationship with the recipient of the advertisement. Advertisers can obtain a lot of information about end users, through the websites they visit and the purchase they make, helping them construct tightly targeted campaigns." Telus broadens reach of wireless networkTelus Corp. has expanded the reach of its high-speed EvDO network into the US through a roaming agreement that connects more than 230 cities. According to the wireless operators this makes it more simple for business and consumer customers traveling south of the border to access the Internet, email and other multimedia applications at broadband speeds. Telus says in a news release that it now offers high-speed mobile services to more US cities than any other Canadian wireless carrier. Infowave joins IBM networkInfowave Software has joined IBM’s PartnerWorld Industry Networks, which allows the Vancouver-based firm to deliver complete, on-demand, enterprise mobile solutions that meet customer requirements but also generate significant return on investment for the company. "Collaborating with Infowave will ensure that we develop industry-specific open solutions that are easy to maintain and cost-effective for our customers," said Buell Duncan, IBM’s GM for ISV and developer relations. Ascalade shipping Skype certified cordless VoIP phonesAscalade Communications Inc. has announced that it has commenced shipments of its Skype-certified cordless PC-free VoIP phones to three strategic customers for retail distribution. The two companies collaborated on the new cordless VoIP phone that doesn’t require a PC to make calls. Skype Internet calling usually requires a PC to makes calls. "By working with Skype and multiple strategic consumer brand leaders, this new VoIP phone brings the convenience and benefits of using Skype for VoIP calling one step closer to your everyday consumer," Ascalade’s VP of business development Brian Ho said in a news release. Big interest in Look CommunicationsAccording to news reports, Look Communications – the company that put itself up for sale last month – is preparing to receive at least one purchase bid and speculation is rife that the bidder is one of the Big Three cell phone companies. While they aren’t talking Bell Canada, Rogers Communications and Telus Corp. all have a keen interest in Look’s assets which include nearly 100 MHz of 2.5 GHz spectum as well as broadcast distribution licences. Look CEO Gerry McGoey believes that the sale of the company is imminent. In a move to give the board of directors adequate time to evaluate any potential acquisition offer, the company and its majority shareholder UBS Broadband Systems Inc. have adopted shareholder rights plans, commonly referred to as poison pills.

ROW Short Takes

News | 12/14/2006 5:00 am EST

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