RoW Short Takes

Samsung launches airport charging stationsamsung Electronics Co. Ltd. has teamed up with The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and JCDecaux NA Inc. to place Samsung mobile charging stations in John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. The charging stations allow travellers to power up their mobile phones, laptops and other electronic devices. They provide four outlets per station and are offered at no cost to users. At launch, the charging stations were available in terminals 1 and 9 at JFK airport, but plans are to make 50 stations available throughout the airport by the end of January.Visa spurs uptake of mobile paymentVisa has launched a mobile platform that lays the foundation for mobile payments and services to millions of mobile users around the world. The goal of the platform is to promote collaboration between the financial services and mobile telecom industries to spur the uptake of mobile payment applications and services. The platform is a suite of technology tools and applications, security standards, and business models that will allow Visa issuers and mobile operators to begin market trials to drive the commercialization of mobile payment. "By developing the mobile platform and engaging key industry stakeholders, Visa is leading the charge to simplify and jump-start the development of innovative mobile payment services," said Mary Ann O'Loughlin, senior VP of consumer practice at Ovum North America, in a news release.Rogers announces Q4 06 resultsRogers Communications Inc. recorded 244,500 net wireless additions for the three months ending December 31, 2006. The figure was up from 216,300 for the same period the previous year. For the 12 months ending December 31, 2006 Rogers recorded 610,300 net wireless additions, down 8.5% from the 618,800 net subscribers added in 2005. In prepaid versus postpaid, the wireless telco enjoyed a 41.5% net increase in prepaid subscribers for Q4 06 over Q4 05, but also recorded a 13.3% net decrease in postpaid subscribers for the same period.RIM, Yahoo expand global relationshipResearch in Motion (RIM) and Yahoo Inc. have expanded their strategic alliance to bring Yahoo Go for Mobile 2.0 to millions of BlackBerry users worldwide as of January 8. Go 2.0 promises to redefine the mobile Internet experience for users through a unique product design, ability to personalize with content from the Internet and a reinvention of mobile search. Said Marco Boerries, Yahoo's senior VP of connected life, in a news release: "Together, Yahoo and RIM have already successfully launched Yahoo services to BlackBerry users through more than 120 mobile operators in almost 60 countries, and with today's launch we are continuing to make it easy for people to stay connected to what's important to them."Telesat to be acquiredBCE Inc. announced last month that it had agreed to sell satellite operator Telesat Canada for $3.42 billion to an acquisition company formed by Canada's Public Sector Pension Investment Board and Loral Space and Communications Inc. The new company, which will be headquartered in Ottawa, will be known as Telesat. "Combining the highly complimentary satellite assets and comprehensive network services resources of Telesat and Loral Skynet will create a leading global satellite services operator capable of offering broadcasters, carriers, corporate users and government entities state-of-the-art, secure and reliable satellite facilities and services virtually anywhere in the world," said Dan Goldberg, president and CEO of Telesat, in a news release. Goldberg will retain his role when the transaction closes, which is expected to be in mid-2007.Sony Ericsson introduces new Walkman phoneSony Ericsson Mobile Communications Inc. has broadened the horizons of Sony's venerable Walkman brand with the launch of the W200 Walkman phone. "Following the enormous success of the W300, Sony Ericsson's first Walkman phone for the mass market, the W200 is our second affordable Walkman phone that will let all enjoy their favourite music on the go," said the company's US president Najmi Jarwala in a press release. The phone has a 128MB memory stick slot expandable up to 1GB, and a battery that provides up to 18 hours of music listening.Dialogue selects Sierra Wireless AirCardTaipei, Taiwan-headquartered Dialogue Technology Corp. has selected the voice-enabled PCI Express Mini Card embedded modules from Vancouver's Sierra Wireless Inc. to provide integrated high-speed wireless connectivity for its FlyBook line of notebook computers. "FlyBook customers are looking for the latest technology and style," said Dialogue's VP of marketing Michael Lee in a media release. "The integrated Sierra Wireless embedded module helps us to deliver a fast, reliable wireless connection in the small, stylish form our customers expect, and gives them the ability to stay in touch and keep the information they need at their fingertips wherever they go."Nokia introduces VoIP phoneNokia Corp., the world's largest mobile phone maker, is cooperating with a leading provider of Internet-based phone services to enable cell phone users to make wireless VoIP calls. Nokia's new N800 Internet Tablet, which is available in the US and selected European countries, enables phone connections through eBay Inc.'s Skype service. "Working with the leading mobile handset manufacturer puts us in a unique position to get Skype to the mobile masses," said the head of Skype's business development in hardware and mobile operations. Voice minutes though Skype and over a Wi-Fi network are far cheaper than wireless calls over the tradictional cellular network. Skype currently has a US$30 annual subscription to make unlimited calls to any regular or mobile phone in Canada or the US.Spectrum's flexComm platforms selected for MIMO researchBurnaby BC-based Spectrum Signal Processing Inc.'s flexComm SDR-3001 software defined platforms have been selected by a leading global telecommunications software and service provider for internal research and development into multiple input/multiple output (MIMO) technology. MIMO technology refers to the use of multiple transmitters, antennas and receivers in wireless communications systems to allow more data to be transmitted within the same bandwidth. "Utilization of software-defined radio technologies, such as those in Spectrum's SDR-3001 platform, can offset these increased costs for original equipment manufacturers allowing for the creation of MIMO based systems in a cost-efficient manner."

RoW Short Takes

Briefs | 01/11/2007 5:00 am EST

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