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Google lost against its G-Mail in Switzerland
2007-02-24 23:55:01
Google Mail isn’t G-Mail. It’s not a mistake, it’s what the Zurich Commercial Court decided. This week, the Swiss court dismissed “Google’s arguments in a lawsuit challenging a trademark registered by German venture capitalist Daniel Giersch, who runs an electronic postal delivery business in Germany and Switzerland that goes by the name G-mail (short for “Giersch mail”)”, CNet reports. The reason is simple: G-Mail applied for the trademark several months earlier. Google plans to file an appeal, meanwhile, G-Mail and Google Switzerland could use the same short name of GMail. But what does Giersch mail do, will you say. A last year CNet article told it: “When he was 18, Giersch founded his first company, a same-day mail delivery service designed to offer a swifter alternative to the Deutsche Post. Within a few years, by his estimation, the company was delivering 80 percent of the mail within his hometown of Itzehoe, a town of a...
More About: Google , Lost , Again

The RIAA against open WiFi hotspots ? and Fon
2007-02-24 11:54:01
The RIAA doesn’t like to hear the word ‘open’. ‘Open ’ music is a non-sense, and open WiFi too. So the Big Music lobby “is asking a judge to rule that anyone who provides bandwidth should be responsible for all the activities of his users”, reports BoingBoing, which adds that such a move would “doom open WiFi — and all other public networking efforts”. Among the eventual casualties, there would be Fon, the Spanish-based wireless network. While it claims to be one of the biggest wireless network in the world, its presence in North America is pretty small. But it strives to extend it, by giving away hundreds of tiny wireless routers in San Fransisco last year, but also by preparing a new version of its Fonera that will allow Fon members to share tunes and videos. The RIAA intention wouldn’t stop Fon to roll out those new devices, but as Cory Doctorow said, this will doom the new launch — and Fon’s situation...
More About: Spot , Wifi , Spots , Again

The iPhone comes to Europe
2007-02-24 11:54:01
If you didn’t have the chance to see the real Apple iPhone during the MacWorld exhibition, here’s your second chance. For the first time in 8 years, Apple comes back to Euro pe to showcase its cellphone at the CeBit, the biggest fair trade of the continent which will be in Hannover from March 15 to 21. Apple will not attend the show as a full exhibitor, but will provide its own staff to showcase its products, reports Heise (in German).
More About: Iphone , Come

India will soon get WiMax
2007-02-24 11:54:01
India gets WiMax. Alcatel-Lucent claims to successfully complete the deployment of what it calls the first live WiMax Rev-e network in Chennai. The company also said the system is now ready to commercial uses, like IP telephony and IP television. The network is ready — and the devices are coming. Alcatel recently invested in WiMax chip specialist Sequans Communications. Both companies are used to working together. Last November, the companies said they are preparing low-cost end user devices based on Sequans’ chips and tailored to the need for broadband access in developing countries. Production is scheduled to begin during the second quarter of 2007.
More About: India , Wimax , Will , IMAX

Skype unsupported by Windows Vista
2007-02-24 11:54:01
Microsoft has released a list of 800 applications the company says are Wind ows Vista -certified. Eight hundreds and that’s all, even though Microsoft and analysts said that the majority of XP software can run on Vista, ComputerWorld reports. But you won’t find all your favorite and efficient software, like the Firefox web browser, OpenOffice suite or the vast majority of VoIP client like Skype (that hit the 500 million downloads), Gizmo Project or Google Talk. We can understand open source softwares don’t need this agreement, but why Skype? Because the certification is a lucrative business, and Microsoft could ask up to $10,000 to certify a software, says the magazine. Hopefully, those softwares have released a special version optimized for the new Windows operating system. Watch carefully before choosing your version, or you’ll get unexpected bugs.
More About: Windows Vista

Avaya will enable voice on Google Apps
2007-02-24 11:54:01
Nowadays, anyone anticipates a boost of a service that come to Google land. It will be the case for Avaya , the spin-off of Lucent Technologies specialized in IP telephony infrastructure, which will supply VoIP (SIP) services in the Google Apps Premier Edition. The Google Apps is a suite of Web applications optimized for small companies that don’t have and don’t want to spend on technical infrastructures on their own. The software, which costs $50 per user per year, includes word processing and spreadsheet applications, calendar, e-mail, instant messaging, as well as guaranteed uptime, IT management tools, and technical support. By hooking with Avaya, Google is more than ready to rival Microsoft’s Office. Avaya plans to add tight integration of its VoIP technology with platforms like Google Talk and to offer subscribers a single in-box for voice, e-mail, IM, and faxes. The new offering will start later this year.
More About: Voice , Will

Open platform: The Skype?s new idea to get into your cellphone
2007-02-22 17:52:03
Skype wants to conquer the cellphone market with the telecoms regulation authorities. The VoIP software company, which yesterday released the Skype version 3.1 for Windows users only, petitioned the FCC to lay the smack down on wireless phone carriers who “limit subscribers’ right to run software communications applications of their choosing,” Ars Technica reports. If the Skype’s petition is sustained, network operators to allow Skype-enabled calling across their networks, something currently prohibited on wireless data plans. In its filing, Skype argues that this capability would offer “tremendous new sources of price competition provided by entities such as Skype,” — that’s exactly why wireless operators will torpedo the plan. For now, the Skype for Symbian-powered cellphones is an always-delayed version. Too many technical difficulties, repeatedly said Skype directors.
More About: Phone , Skype , Cell , Open , Your

Cisco gets its interoperability, Apple gets its iPhone trademark
2007-02-22 17:52:03
It’s done for the Apple and Cisco lawsuit. The result is both companies would use the same trademark — as expected. Now the settlement done, the battle for interoperability starts and would why not put the not yet available Apple iPhone under risk. Cisco yesterday acknowledges a security flaw in several versions of its IP phones of the Unified IP Conference Station. The list of unprotected phones includes the 7906G, 7911G, 7941G, 7961G, 7970G and 7971G. While those models are speaker phones specially designed for conference rooms, hacker might be interested to break into the Apple iPhone through backdoors implement to set interoperability with Cisco iPhones.
More About: Iphone , Opera , Inter

Mobile voice recognition TellMe wants to go public
2007-02-22 05:51:01
TellMe provides the service that cellphone users like to see more often: Voice web browsing on their mobile. The voice-activated tool is already used by Yahoo and Microsoft mobile services as well as Cingular more recently. Partners big and solid enough to let the company created by the ex-Netscape VP for technology, Mike McCue, envision an IPO. According to Business 2.0, TellMe is going public some time this year. Lise Buyer has been hired for the job; she helped Google through its IPO. TellMe has a shiny profile: It is profitable since 2004 on an estimated $100 million revenue. And the current trend of moving everything on the computer to the cellphone gives a perfect environment to the company. But that doesn’t mean it’s going to succeed. Last year, the most anticipated public introduction of a VoIP company was Vonage. Unfortunately for Vonage, it was a mess and still is a mess.
More About: Mobile , Public , Want , Ants

USB Flash drives have also a voice
2007-02-22 05:51:01
You might think that with the rise of voice over IP features in mobiles and on the Web, the voice spreads everywhere. And you’ll be right — because USB flash drive also gets voice. The “Exclusive USB Sound Flash Drive ” from eNecessities is a special breed of flash drives that come with a commercial pitch pre-loaded. Once you plug it, the device starts playing its messages that can last up to 20 seconds. While it’s definitively the new toy to give to your premium customers, we’re not sure they would like to hear the same message on and on until their next free gift. (via crave)
More About: Usb , Voice , Flash Drive

After Apple, Dell wants to rock the mobile phone market
2007-02-22 05:51:01
With the iPhone , Apple not only shacked the telecoms market — which is reacting quite well with several models of touchless smartphones lining up –, but also fosters other computer makers to jump into the cellphone market. According to Unstrung magazine, Dell has poached Motorola’s mobile devices president Ron Garriques (in picture) to head up its new global consumer division. Garriques will report directly to chairman and CEO Michael Dell, and is set to lead the company’s mobile strategy. Dresdner analyst Per Lindberg believes this is only the start. He “doesn’t expect these companies to stand back and watch Apple move into the mobile sector without a direct challenge, and believes they have plans to “emulate” Apple?s mobile expansion. Some are already active in the sector: At last week’s 3GSM show in Barcelona, HP launched a new iPAQ smartphone, which includes VOIP capabilities and push email.”
More About: Mobile , Mobile Phone , Market

The future WiMax: Data transfer at 1 gigabits per second
2007-02-22 05:51:01
The WiFi and WiMax have usually seen as rivals — and they could be. While the next generation of WiFi standard, called the 802.11n, isn’t yet… a standard, the IEEE is already working on the future of WiMax. Dubbed 802.16m, the new standard would be able to transfer data up to 1 Gbit/s while maintaining backwards compatibility with existing WiMax radios and 4G radio acccess technology, reports Unstrung (via dailywireless). The transfer rate will then be twice faster than the 802.11n WiFi standard, and once again verifies the Moore’s law. The IEEE task group hopes to complete the new spec by the end of 2009. A bit late, said vendors present at the announcement during the 3GSM show in Barcelona (in picture). They expressed skepticism about the speed the work can be completed and the chances of maintaining backwards compatibility with mobile 802.16 technology.
More About: Future , Data , The Future , Transfer , Wimax

Draw on a real wall with text messages
2007-02-22 05:51:01
If you thought text messages are just a conversation medium, this artistic project might change your opinion. Paul Notzold, working with Federico Hatoum, have been working on a community drawing tool that allows you to use SMS to draw on buildings. (via textually) The piece will debut in the Streets of Rome, Italy from March 1 - 3. Phone users send coordinates to draw a line or basic geometric shapes. The only catch is the price of a drawing session. We hope a version for instant messengers would be available. This way, you just have to go within a hotspot and create the most complicated form you want. Here’s a short list of alternative uses of the concept: Use it a game. Each group of phone users will have a limited time to make the best drawings. Write temporary graffiti for geeks, without using any paint. Send public announcements to find the missing pet of the neighborhood. You have certainly better ideas than those, write them down in a comment.
More About: With , Essa , Wall , Message , Messages

A new strategy for Vonage, possibly a new name
2007-02-22 05:51:01
There was some rumors about the new Vonage ’s wireless ambitions the last year. It’s getting real: Vonage says it will start offering wireless services to subscribers during the second half of 2007. The company also expects to announce new agreements to resell other carriers’ broadband Internet access services, as well as new content deals later this year, reports Business Week. “While Vonage won’t divulge any details, it did confirm after its Feb. 15, fourth-quarter earnings call with analysts, that it will start selling dual-mode phones offering cellular as well as Wi-Fi access, in the second half of the year.” According to analysts, the move should be important. Some of them believes “the company could even name itself Vonage Wireless, to reflect a new range of services.”
More About: Strategy , Name , Trat , Stra

Skype Pro launched: Free calls but watch out the conditions
2007-02-22 05:51:01
Skype featured the SkypePro service a month ago — but launched it just today. Skype Pro is the new Internet communications package from the peer-to-peer VoIP software company, modeled after the new Skype offering in North America. Users can call for free to any landline phone (there’s still 0.039 cents for each call), get a free Skype voicemail, a discount for a SkypeIn number and some additional promotions for Skype-compatible wireless phones. The service will initially be available across Europe. Asia-Pacific countries will get the same service later this year. For now, users living in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Portugal, Spain and the UK could subscribe. Three bloggers’ reactions: “Skype reserves the right to impose fair usage limits on the maximum number of minutes provided free of charge per user per month (for example 3,000 minutes per month). Once these limits are excee...
More About: Watch , Skype , Free , Calls , Launch

Europe prepare more intrusive phone and Net privacy tracking rules
2007-02-20 17:50:02
One of the great aspects of the Internet is its zillion avatars, alias names, and fake identities. With is, LonelyGirl15 wouldn’t have been that mysterious and her fame would be harder to create. Well, at least in Euro pe , that wouldn’t be the case anymore. European governments are preparing harder legislation to require companies to keep detailed data about people?s Internet and phone use that goes beyond what the countries will be required to do under a European Union directive, reports the NY Times. A proposal from the German Ministry of Justice would “essentially prohibit using false information to create an e-mail account, making the standard Internet practice of creating accounts with pseudonyms illegal.” “A draft law in the Netherlands would likewise go further than the European Union requires, in this case by requiring phone companies to save records of a caller?s precise location during an entire mobile phone conversation.” Of course, t...
More About: Phone , Privacy , Rules

Quantum Research says to Apple: Don?t touch to our touch-screen
2007-02-20 17:50:02
Apple may face another lawsuit for its iPhone from Quantum Research , the company that supplies chips to Apple and that earlier filled a lawsuit for its iPod clickwheel system. This time, the British sensor company said that based on current descriptions, the consumer device appears to use technology patented by Apple in its consumer-oriented iPhone device, Electronic Weekly reports. “The description of the iPhone suggests it uses a rear-surface touch screen, and has proximity sensing which can tell if it is held to the ear. That’s a QR capability,” explains a licensing director at QR. At least, what those lawsuits suggest is that Apple doesn’t create those innovations but gather them to make a wow-style consumer product. Something that designer Bruce Tognazzini from Nielsen Norman Group pointed out previously.
More About: Screen , Apple , Search , Touch

In the US, broadband Internet maxing out
2007-02-20 17:50:02
A new report of Parks Associates suggested broadband residential subscriptions grew by more than 20% during 2006 in the US. There’s more than 50 million households connected to broadband, and the total amount should increase to 60 million, surpassing the 55% household connection point sometime during 2007. The report doesn’t give figures about the bandwidth available with those subscriptions. It also finds that, in recent years, service providers have been partnering more closely with equipment vendors to strengthen the linkages between digital lifestyle services and the end-user products.
More About: Internet , Band , Broadband , Inter , Broadband Internet

Does Skype turn you/him/her on?
2007-02-20 17:50:02
A MetaFilter member asked this why-not question: “Does Skype ’smooth’ your voice to make it sound mellower, more seductive etc.? That’s my impression; but is there any evidence to support it? I suppose an analogous means of customer retention might be the use in shops of ’slimming mirrors’.” It might be just an opinion. But among the answer, one person, claiming to work on the audio parts for one Skype competitor, explains that “they do filter your voice to remove noise and acoustic echo to make the audio clearer and better.” “The side effect might be that the voice sounds more mellower or seductive, but that is not the main reason to do it (at least for us, Skype might of course have additional requirements and audio filters…).” Do we have to expect any “help me mr. Right” plugin for Skype?
More About: Turn

Viacom hooks up with Joost
2007-02-20 11:49:01
After asking YouTube to take down 100,000 videos, Viacom is expected to sign a licensing deal with Joost , the new venture started by Skype’s founder Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, the WSJ reports. Said differently, it means YouTube users will need to wait the first public release of the video software to keep watching the same kind of videos they used to in YouTube. Joost is a TV client that turns any laptop and computer running on Windows and now on Mac platform into a TV set. And like traditional broadcasting, the software also brings up ad spots, making this business model a more interesting alternative to social video sharing, more and more considered as social video pirating. Viacom is the third major broadcasting company to partner Joost. Warner Music Corp. and TV production company Endemol are the other ones. If you want to know more about Joost’s client, check our short-list here.
More About: With , Hook

10 ways to stop listening to voice mails
2007-02-19 23:48:02
Voicemails get obsolete. In his column entitled “Freedom for prisoners of voicemails“, David Pogue stressed the rise of voicemail speech-to-text converters. Indeed, there’s the SpinVox service, effective in the UK and Europe and available in the US. But there also is the SimulScribe, which transcribe voice mail messages into emails. It’s too bad there are only those two ones which take advantage of the voice recognition technologies. Besides them, other services like GotVoice store voice messages into MP3 and forward them to your email box. Pogue also listed ten good reasons to try those services. Among them, we like this little one: “You can check your messages even if you?re deaf ? or temporarily so, because you?re in the subway or at a rock concert.” But as not anybody is concerned by this problem, the most useful one would be the derived way to use those services: “You can do ?typing? for work when you?re on the run. That is, you can ...
More About: Mail , Voice , List , Listen , Stop

A Skype blood into Index Ventures
2007-02-19 17:48:02
Index Vent ure s, the Europe-based venture capital firm that backed Skype at its early days and which got rich after the eBay $2.6 million buyout, announced the closing of its latest and fourth fund, the “Index Ventures IV”, capped at ?350 million (around $460 million). The firm?s total capital under management raised to more than ?1 billion (about $1.2 billion). New partners have come to the firm. Among them, Saul Klein, the former Skype global marketing vice president, and one of the top executives who left the boat, disappointed by the eBay management. For the Index Ventures’ tactic, it’ll remain the same, that is partnering highly capable start-up in the information technology, life science and green tech sectors.
More About: Blood , Index

MobileCrunch lost its Starr
2007-02-19 17:48:02
Oliver Star r leaves Mobi le Crunch . In a comment, the blogger explained why. “Michael asked me to stop writing MobileCrunch after I agreed to accept a position as Senior Mobile Analyst for Chris Shipley?s Guidewire Group as Mike feels that TechCrunch and Guidewire are competitive concerns. I had every intention of continuing as the author of MobileCrunch and was sincerely disappointed that Michael chose to make the decision he had.” “I have put over a year of my life into building up the readership and content at MobileCrunch and having to start building an audience again from zero is not something that I relish doing.” He also admitted that “Michael can be difficult to work with it isn?t my desire to ’spite’ anyone. I have a tremendous amount of respect for what Michael accomplished with TechCrunch and certainly MobileCrunch was a significant beneficiary of this success.”
More About: Lost

If you?re a newbie cellphone operator in Japan, drop voice services
2007-02-19 17:48:02
Japanese eMobile is the last cellphone operator to enter the South-East Asian ultra-competitive market. How do they envision the future? Is there still some niche markets? In fact, eMobile, the cellular subsidiary of ADSL infrastructure company eAccess, “is sliding in with a data-only HSDPA service that’ll start this March and grow a voice element in 2008″, reports Dottocomu. HSDPA is short for high-speed downlink packet access, an improvement of the UMTS standard (check Wikipedia). Their cellphone catalog is pretty thin. It currently includes the Sharp EM One, an Internet tablet with a dual-slider keyboard which among other features, will support voice calls once connected, and looks for VoIP calling clients “like Skype to fill in some of the gap for the meantime”. “Voice services will be supported in their initial phases by a roaming arrangement with NTT DoCoMo to provide nationwide coverage; it’s not entirely clear at present how exten...
More About: Services , Japan , Phone , Opera

Just on Windows, Joost is now on Mac
2007-02-18 23:47:01
Joost has been ported to the Apple Mac platform. The Mac version is derived from the Wind ows version, looks like it, “while behaving very much like a Mac application”, says the Joost blog. The Linux version is still absent. For the record, Joost is a peer-to-peer video client backed by Skype’s founders, Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis. We recently listed 15 facts and features of the video client and its developer company. For instance, we now know its core shares the same code as Skype and Kazaa modules and the rest is build using the Mozilla Firefox set of functions. Us: When we tried Joost for Windows as a beta tester, the software displays correctly video contents and didn’t take our bandwidth down. There are some work to do about the navigation, which we think is a bit confusing due to the redundancy of the same contents from section to section. This might evolve soon, as the company will include other TV channels.
More About: Just , Joost

Invisible ads that only your cellphone can see
2007-02-18 11:46:02
Steganography might be an antique technique used by Greeks to avoid critical messages from interception. For instance, they tattooed messages on shaved heads that were then covered by the regrowth of hair. Steganography makes a come-back as a “sublimage” for cellphones or said differently, a new communication tool to bundle print magazines with adverts for instance. Fujitsu is pushing a technology that can encode data into a picture that is invisible to the human eye but can be decoded by a mobile phone with a camera, the BBC reported earlier this week. The technique “works by taking advantage of the sensitivities of the human eye, which struggles to see the colour yellow,” and can currently store just 12 bytes of information, the equivalent amount of data in a barcode. The first commercial use of the technology is in Japan where a Music Club has embedded codes into flyers it sends to subscribers, but we guess it could be possibly combined with a click-to-...
More About: Phone , Cell , Hat , Your , Cellphone

Adobe integrates another VoIP company
2007-02-16 17:43:01
This Adobe acquisition wasn’t on our radar until now. The owner company of the Flash format bought another VoIP company. This time, it’s Antepo, the developer company of the Antepo Open Presence Network (OPN) System, whose technology will be integrated in the Adobe Acrobat suit. A past review of EWeek highlighted the VoIP client as a very good one for business users. “It offers a good feature set on the end-user client, and it includes a Web-based administration front end and integration with enterprise directories and databases.” “OPN System XT use the open-source-derived XMPP (Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol) for IM, so administrators can use many commercial and open-source client options beyond those that ship with the products. In addition, OPN System XT supports SIP (Session Initiation Protocol)/SIMPLE (SIP for Instant Messaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions), so companies can use SIP/SIMPLE-based clients.” For the record, ...
More About: Company , Other , Comp , Voip

Windows Mobile 6 comes with Opera browser
2007-02-16 17:43:01
It’s a gift for the Opera Software. Some of the first Wind ows Mobile 6.0 phones to hit the market will include Opera Software’s Mobile web browser, in addition to (or in competition) with the Microsoft’s Internet Explorer Mobile. The first phone models will include the Motorola’s Q as well as phones from High Tech Computer , Asus and Toshiba will include Opera Mobile, announced the company at the 3GSM show. With this announcement, Opera sticks to its recent strategy to become the web browser of cellphones. Jajah, the web-based VoIP system, already jumped on it. Last April, both companies inked a deal to bundle the navigator with Jajah IP telephony service.
More About: Windows Mobile

Apple and Cisco work it out, agreed on another cease-fire
2007-02-16 17:43:01
Cisco and Apple agreed on a second extension of the deadline for the iPhone vs iPhone lawsuit. Apple now has until next Wednesday to respond to the lawsuit filed in San Francisco federal court. The extension has a meaning. When they reiterated previous statements, both companies affirmed they want to use the extra time to reach a settlement. So no fight in perspective, but some possible changes in the iPhone closed platform as Cisco wants the two iPhones to interoperate. And with the extra work needed, will it be possible that the iPhone release date be delayed?
More About: Other , Work , Fire , Cisco

T-Mobile cutting roaming fees, with conditions
2007-02-16 17:43:01
Hutchinson-3 was the first cellphone operator to cut its roaming fees. It’s not the only one now. T-Mobile will lower by more than half charges for customers who transmit data over its mobile networks. There are conditions, though. The £7.5 to £3 lowering is for business customers who make phone calls in countries where T-Mobile has deployed its own network. That means business travelers in Austria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia and the UK.
More About: With , Fees , Roaming