Wireless Technologies (2G/GSM, GPRS, EDGE, 3G, 4G)

2G/GSM
2G (or 2-G) is short for second-generation wireless telephone technology.

Second generation 2G cellular telecoms networks were commercially launched on the GSM standard in Finland by Radiolinja (now part of Elisa) in 1991. Three primary benefits of 2G networks over their predecessors were that phone conversations were digitally encrypted, 2G systems were significantly more efficient on the spectrum allowing for far greater mobile phone penetration levels; and 2G introduced data services for mobile, starting with SMS text messages.

2G/GSM
GSM (Global System for Mobile communications: originally from Groupe Spécial Mobile) is the most popular standard for mobile phones in the world. Its promoter, the GSM Association, estimates that 82% of the global mobile market uses the standard. GSM is used by over 3 billion people across more than 212 countries and territories. Its ubiquity makes international roaming very common between mobile phone operators, enabling subscribers to use their phones in many parts of the world. GSM differs from its predecessors in that both signaling and speech channels are digital, and thus is considered a second generation (2G) mobile phone system. This has also meant that data communication was easy to build into the system.

GPRS
Short for General Packet Radio Service, a standard for wireless communications which runs at speeds up to 115 kilobits per second, compared with current GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) systems’ 9.6 kilobits.
GPRS, which supports a wide range of bandwidths, is an efficient use of limited bandwidth and is particularly suited for sending and receiving small bursts of data, such as e-mail and Web browsing, as well as large volumes of data.

EDGE
Acronym for Enhanced Data GSM Environment. EDGE is a faster version of GSM wireless service. EDGE enables data to be delivered at rates up to 384 Kbps on a broadband. The standard is based on the GSM standard and uses TDMA multiplexing technology.

3G
3G refers to the third generation of developments in wireless technology, especially mobile communications. The third generation, as its name suggests, follows the first generation (1G) and second generation (2G) in wireless communications.

3G includes capabilities and features such as:

Enhanced multimedia (voice, data, video, and remote control).

Usability on all popular modes (cellular telephone, e-mail, paging, fax, videoconferencing, and Web browsing).

Broad bandwidth and high speed (upwards of 2 Mbps).

Roaming capability throughout Europe, Japan, and North America.

4G
4G is the short term for fourth-generation wireless, the stage of broadband mobile communications that will supercede the third generation (3G). While neither standards bodies nor carriers have concretely defined or agreed upon what exactly 4G will be, it is expected that end-to-end IP and high-quality streaming video will be among 4G’s distinguishing features. Fourth generation networks are likely to use a combination of WiMAX and WiFi.

Mobile Money Transfer

Welcome to the GSMA’s Mobile Money Transfer Strategic Initiative

The GSMA’s Mobile Money Transfer (MMT) programme was launched with the aim of tapping the ubiquity and ease-of-use of mobile communications to enable the world’s 200 million international migrant workers to easily and securely send remittances to their dependents, many of whom don’t have bank accounts.

By exploiting the extensive reach of the mobile networks, the programme will complement existing local remittances channels and make transferring money internationally significantly more affordable.

About Mobile Money Transfer

Over $275 million is remitted every year from developed economies to emerging markets through recorded channels and the World Bank estimates that half as much again travels through unrecorded channels. The use of the mobile phone as a sending and receiving mechanism for remittances has the potential to enable low denomination remittances (sub $100) to be made much more affordable. This will create a new market, driving the accessibility of remittances globally to reach an estimated 1.5-2bn recipients. The impact of this will be to increase the overall penetration and usage of m-transfers, m-payments, and m-banking globally.

Our vision of money transfer is that it should no longer be restricted to the ‘traditional’ physical methods of moving money. Money should be available and able to be moved 24×7, 365 days of the year, wherever you are. MMT services will offer the opportunity to send money to in excess of 3 billion mobile phone users across all networks and geographic boundaries.

source:  http://www.gsmworld.com/mmt/index.shtml

Pay-Buy-Mobile – put’s a credit card in your mobile

The GSMA’s ‘Pay-Buy-Mobile’ (PBM) initiative is at the heart of new services being rolled-out by the world’s mobile network operators that will enable you to pass a phone close to a point-of-sale ‘reader’ when you are buying goods or services. With PBM, it’s just like having your credit or debit card in your mobile phone. So, instead of handing over a physical card, you will simply use your mobile phone to pay for the goods and services that you have bought.

The service will typically be available in hundreds of shops, supermarkets, restaurants or railway stations – all around the world. When you’ve paid, the transaction will appear on your next credit or debit card statement. It’s as simple as that.

How Pay-Buy-Mobile works

Near Field Technology (NFC) is at the heart of the Pay-Buy-Mobile technology. Handsets equipped with an NFC chip can communicate with existing contactless payment systems. When passed closed to the reader, data can be exchanged between the handset and the point of sale device. This facility can be used to deliver a wide range of secure, interoperable and transparent services, such as credit and debit payments.

Specialised handsets offered by operators have their Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC), often known as the SIM card, linked to the phone’s Near Field Communications (NFC) chip. The 35 mobile network operators involved in the PBM initiative, which together have 1.4 billion customers, all support the use of the Single Wire Protocol as a standard to link the UICC with the phone’s NFC chip. The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) adopted this standard in October 2007.

To enable the service, the credit card application is downloaded into the secure environment of the UICC that is embedded in the phone. More than one credit or debit card can be stored in the same UICC, thus increasing the convenience of PBM to the consumer. In use, data transferred by NFC from the handset to the reader is communicated to financial organisations using the same secure process as used for conventional credit or debit cards transactions.

source: http://www.gsmworld.com/pbm/how.shtml

Nokia 6131 NFC phone

 

Nokia 6136

With Nokia 6131 NFC phone you can have your credit card, travel card and loyalty card in your phone and use it as a multi-purpose smart card. Use the Nokia 6131 NFC to pay for your purchases with speed and ease or access any mobile services, e.g. weather forecast and the latest news just by touching a tag. The Nokia 6131 NFC supports JSR 257 for 3rd party NFC application developers. Flip open the Nokia 6131 NFC with a unique one-touch push-to-open design for comfortable one-hand messaging, dialing and answering calls. The 6131 NFC features a brilliant 16.7-million “true color” main display and 262,144-color outer display, ideal for use with the 1.3-megapixel camera and playing music with the AAC/MP3 player and FM radio with Visual Radio technology.

Linux Develops Towards Becoming the Future Main Mobile OS

A bright future lies ahead for the Linux operating system in the case of mobile phones, when considering the results of recent studies. These expectations come from the growing rate of development that it has reached over the past time and also due to the fact that more and more handset producers show enthusiasm over using Linux on their devices.

The Windows operating system currently holds the majority when it comes to PCs, although Apple Macintosh and Linux also hold some small percentages from the market. In the case of mobile phones, the number of such options is considerably larger, with Symbian, Palm, Windows Mobile, Linux, BREW and RIM among the main solutions.

Motorola and Vodafone are among the companies that have come to appreciate most this operating platform over all others. Moreover, others are joining them, including Samsung and LG Electronics, by choosing Linux for their handsets instead of other options. These two handset producers have already started to develop mobile phones equipped with a next-generation dual-core chipset of Qualcomm, and plan to launch them on the domestic market this October.

There is a large number of advantages in using Linux over other operating systems. To start with, it needs no license fee and can be managed by a third party developer. Moreover, it brings support for software similar to that used on a PC, including a web browser.

Mobile devices using an open source operating system such as Linux have a highly customizable look and feel. This is mainly the result of the developer’s work, without the licensing restrictions that can often hinder creativity and apply certain constrains. Linux is the result of the work deployed by a large number of developers and always ready for even more development.

ABI Research has reached the conclusion that, over the next five years, the number of Linux-powered mobile phones will go well over 200 million. That is a high hope in the case of an operating system with huge potential.

iPhone overview: Apple of discord

Cutting edge, sleek and promising, the iPhone stirred the mobile world – not bad for Apple’s first go at the mobile phones market. Inspiring and provocative, the iPhone will always come to mind when a handset with full touch-based user interface is in question.

Well, since the official release of the iPhone on 29th June 2007, a lot of reviews came out, too many controversial things were said, and there we are – finally having our say about the handset. As wise people say, better later than never.

Apple iPhone official pictures

Apple is a company which specializes in developing products on the verge of science fiction. The iPod is a perfect example. Around 2001 the company decided to change portable music players as we know them, and pretty much succeeded. Much like the iPhone, the announcement of iPod generated huge amounts of hype and when it came out in October 2001 it actually lived up to almost every promise, turning out to be a total smash. As it developed, throughout the years, Apple’s portable music player became the most popular mobile multimedia device and its reputation never seems to fade.

Following the same credo of being a feature-rich, yet simple-to-use device, the iPhone will undoubtedly build a strong fan base. It will surely attract the many “if-it-ain’t-shinin’-I-ain’t-buyin’” customers, since the iPhone is definitely among the most beautifully crafted mobile phones we’ve seen.

It will be a while before we get a hands-on with the European version of the iPhone. As Apple has confirmed the device is due to hit the European market November 9th 2007 starting with UK and Germany and later on this month in France. The craved device already appeared throughout retailers in Europe ss unlocking efforts so far are managing to overcome the protection of the handset.

Key features:

• Stylish design
• Scratch-proof front glass cover
• 3.5″ 16M color TFT display with a resolution of 480 x 320 pixels
• Handset orientation sensor and proximity sensor
• 2 megapixel camera
• Touch-based user interface
• Great UI graphics and animations
• Supreme web surfing experience

Main disadvantages:

• Camera has no auto focus or settings
• No video recording
• No custom ringtones allowed
• Safari browser doesn’t support Flash and Java
• Really basic Bluetooth capabilities
• No Office documents editor
• No third party applications
• No 3G support (at least the US version)

refrence: http://www.gsmarena.com/

Samsung Prototype Devices

Mobile website Mobile Review has gotten a hold of some slides of Samsung prototype devices. (The slides have since been removed from Mobile Review.) Most of the devices are more conventional cell phone devices, but three are Windows Mobile based. One, code named “B-Bop,” is a Phone Edition device. The other two are Smartphone devices, the “Javelin” and the “Thor,” the latter of which is said to be running “MS Smartphone Magneto.”

Here are the slides for the Phone Edition and Smartphone prototypes:

Samsung “B-Bop”
Samsung has requested we remove the information that was here, but in the words of Engadget, “the ‘B-Bop’, a smallish Pocket PC Phone … with a slider-style keypad and a 400MHz processor, WiFi, Bluetooth, a two megapixel digital camera, and a miniSD memory card slot.”

Samsung “Javelin”
Samsung has requested we remove the information that was here, but in the words of Smartphone Thoughts, “…based on Windows Mobile Smartphone 2003 Second Edition … and has the following specs: fast 500MHz processor, 1 Mega Pixel camera, 65K color screen and miniSD.”

Samsung “Thor”
Samsung has requested we remove the information that was here, but in the words of Smartphone Thoughts, “The second one is based on Windows Mobile ‘Magneto’ features a 3GB hard disk drive and is aptly codenamed ‘HDD Music Smartphone.’ This one looks like it has all the ingredients to be a big hit. It sports a 262K color screen with a resolution of 240×320. It has USB 2.0 for quickly syncing those big music files. A jog shuttle navigation system instead of the traditional joystick/joypad.”

No further information is known about either device or if/when they would be released.

Update: I am sorry that the above slides and specifications had to be removed. As you can see they have been replaced with quotes and photos from sites that are still being allowed to run the information. Smaller mobile community websites like mine simply cannot fight large corporations that want information removed. The information that was here is available on many websites including mirrors of this site (which I have no control over). So is out in the open and it is unfair that sites such as mine should be targeted for removal even though davespda.com is one of many sites carrying the information. Plenty of other companies know how to hold on to their secrets…it isn’t really my fault that someone else published Samsung’s plans.

Update 3/10/2005: I have reposted two of the three slides because Samsung has demoed the B-Bop and the Thor (i300 and i750) at CeBIT 2005. Since the devices are public now and Samsung has published information on them at the conference, the slides return.

refrence: http://www.davespda.com/index.php?itemid=158

Symbian OS support for the ARM Symmetric Multi-processor (SMP)

ARM and Symbian announced Symbian OS would support the ARM Symmetric Multi-processor (SMP) architecture in future OS versions. This technology allows for multiple CPU cores to be used in mobile phones. Don’t get too excited though, the first phones using multiple core processors are not expected before 2010. In other Symbian related processor news Renesas today announced it has commenced sample shipments of its new generation chipset, the SH-Mobile G3. Read on for more details.

So Multiple Cores – what does that actually mean?

Current mobile phones use single core processors.  The processor / core is the brain of a computer (mobile phone) that performs the computational operations that make it work. Processors have tasks to perform (these are referred to as threads). A single core processor can only actively work on one thread at a time – effectively it performs it tasks sequentially. By contrast a multiple core processor is able to have several tasks at once (one for each core) – effectively this means it is able to perform tasks concurrently. Multiple cores are still one processor (they are physically made up of a single integrated circuit and may share memory), but in effect it is a bit like having multiple processors working in concert.
However in the mobile context it is actually the implications for power management (battery life) that are more significant. An OS can be written to allow cores to be accessed on demand (rather than having to power the whole processor). This means that functions that require less processor power are less battery intensive. For example most of the time a phone would run with just one core powered up, however when using processor intensive functions (e.g. capturing video) then the other cores would be powered up.

As phones get more powerful and use faster processors the lack of matching development in battery technology means that power management issues are only going to become more important.

The Symbian OS is already the most technically advanced of the major mobile software platforms in this area and Symbian believe it to be one of their key strengths. Support for ARM SMP architecture continues to build on this.

Here’s the more technical explanation as described in the Symbian press release:

Symbian Limited today announced Symbian OS support for the ARM Symmetric Multi-processor (SMP) architecture. SMP support in future versions of Symbian OS will use multiple CPU cores to provide ‘performance on demand’ – battery life will be improved by accessing cores only when running demanding high-end multimedia applications and powering them down when they are not in use. This announcement is a milestone in Symbian’s strategy for power efficiency for converged mobile devices, reinforcing Symbian’s position as technology leader.

Symbian and ARM are long standing partners and have successfully collaborated on technology development and product planning for over 10 years. The ARM® Cortex™-A9 MPCore™ multicore processor was announced earlier today at the ARM Developers’ Conference. Symbian and ARM are working together closely on supporting Cortex-A9 MPCore multicore processor-based CPUs in Symbian OS.

Multi-processing technology underlies next generation Cortex-A9 processor designs. In converged mobile devices, SMP CPUs consist of multiple cores which can be individually powered up and down by the operating system. This delivers high performance for high-end applications such as games, browser-based intelligent services, and media-rich applications such as video streaming or TV recording, while offering low power consumption when the device is idle or executing less performance-critical tasks. Symbian believes SMP support is a crucial step in continuing to deliver industry-leading battery life in a world where converged mobile devices offer increasingly performance-demanding features with constant battery capacity.

In order to take full advantage of SMP, Symbian is taking the following technology steps:
• multi-processor support in the Symbian OS kernel and device driver model
• targeted enhancements throughout Symbian OS
• extended Symbian OS developer tools to allow developers to access the benefits of SMP
• Symbian OS validation on Cortex-A9 based hardware and models

Symbian has already started to deliver SMP technologies to its customers and will roll out the above incremental developments in future versions of Symbian OS. Details of this will be announced in due course. The first Cortex-A9 MPCore processor-based Symbian smartphones are expected in 2010.

Winners of Global Mobile Content Awards 2007

2006 Real Football 3D”, Gameloft (France)

Website: www.gameloft.com

Best Mobile Game

“2006 Real Football 3D”, Gameloft (France)

Website: www.gameloft.com

Company Information
Gameloft is a leading international publisher and developer of video games for mobile phones. Founded in 1999, it has emerged as one of the top innovators in its field. The company creates games for mobile handsets equipped with Java, Brew, or Symbian technology. As a result of agreements with telecom carriers, handset manufacturers, specialized distributors and its online store, Gameloft now boasts a distribution network covering 75 countries.

Content Summary
Users can play Real Soccer in genuine 3D. The field and stadiums were designed and rendered with high-quality 3D graphics. The 3 camera modes (normal, near and follow) and the different view angles let you watch all of the match details, so you¡¯ll feel completely immersed in the action. Furthermore, realistic and extremely detailed animations (dribbling, technical moves, scissor kicks), the atmosphere of a real match (pyrotechnics, fans¡¦), intuitive game play and improved artificial intelligence, make this game the most realistic soccer game on the market.

Best Mobile Music “Jamba Music”, Jamba (Germany) Website: www.jamba.de/jcw/music Company Information Jamba Music allows the consumer to simultaneously rent and play music on their mobile and PC. Unlike most other made-for-mobile-music download services, Jamba Music’s model is unique in that it can be used on any network and on all recently made mobile phones. Jamba has developed software that makes the simultaneous download of music onto both the consumer’s PC and mobile phone possible. Jamba Music offers tracks for download by artists from major record labels, including Song BMG, Universal, EMI and a number of independents. Over one million tracks in total are offered. Content Summary Jamba Music offers consumers a diverse and all major genres range of music including pop, rock, soul, jazz, etc. for download onto their mobile phone and PC. The service is consumer-friendly, easy to use and provides an advanced music experience on the mobile phone. Users have access to artists’ biographies, album reviews and music news as well as to create and share play lists enjoyable easy and speedy access system. They select a song direct from their mobile phone and play it within 10 seconds thanks to progressive download.

Best Mobile TV & Video “Jig Movie”, Jig.jp (Japan) Website: www.jig.jp Company Information jig.jp aims to focus on the mobile application area of this vastly growing field. The mobile phone is the personal internet terminal that can be used anytime, anywhere. We hope to contribute to advancements in mobile technology by creating an interface to connect people to the Internet. “jig appli” released on Sep. 9th, 2003, improved browsing speed for mobile phones by reducing correspondence time with the web server. As an extension of the “jig appli”, the company released “jig browser” on October 1st, 2004, aimed at viewing PC full web sites on the mobile phone. With the release of “jig browser”, jig.jp have been continually adding to its functionality, so that its customers can have a comfortable user experience. jig.jp values the opinions and requests of our users. We also strive to provide faster, high quality services through continued research and development. Content Summary The “jig movie” is a platform that enables video streaming for viewing mobile phones. Users can watch long content streaming and live content streaming on mobile phones by the “jig movie” easily.

Best Mobile Information “Mobile Diabetes Management”, Healthpia (Korea) Website: www.healthpia.com Company Information Healthpia Company, founded in 2002, developed the world’s first diabetes phone which is an innovative solution which enables patients to effectively control their blood glucose level. It is the breakthrough solution integrating the bio-sensor embedded mobile phone and the data network. The effectiveness of this device has already been proven in some beta trials in Korea. Healthpia has filed 59 patents in some key countries-among those 59 patents, 42 patents are registered, and the rest are pending. In US Healthpia received an approval from FDA in June, 2006. Content Summary The contents of Healthpia’s diabetes management service are focused on “Intensive Care” and “Easiness to Use”. Usually chronic disease can be getting better due to timely feedback and monitoring. In this point of view, Healthpia’s content is focused on monitoring and prevention of diabetes. Especially step counter function, calorie book, and alerting abnormal result are the main stream of the content.

Best Mobile Community & Communication “GOOVII”, Green Tomato (Hong Kong) Website: www.gtomato.com Company Information Green Tpmato provide one-stop mobile services focusing on emerging mobile Internet applications ranging from Application Platform Solution to Value-added content for mobile operators, handset manufacturers, branded content providers and virtually any company who would like to expand their presence and build their user community on mobile space. Today, Green Tomato’s content and platform solution is distributed through more than 30 mobile operators and service providers in Asia with over one million users. Green Tomato’s products are highly recognized by the industry with numerous International and local awards, including the International Nokia Forum Pro Award and the regional Asia Pacific ICT Award. Content Summary GOOVII is a cross-platform video sharing and blog community that offers great user experience for any user with mobile Internet and video capability to share multi-media content with their friends and family, without the need for special software download. Users can view, share, upload, write their own content or comment to others through similar user-friendly web and mobile interface.

Best Mobile Commerce “CJ Mmall”, CJ Home Shopping (Korea) Website: http://company.cjmall.com/company2_eng/company/index.jsp Company Information The goal of CJ Home Shopping is to become ‘the most reliable, powerful online distribution & marketing service company in Asia by 2010’. For the first time in Korea, CJ Home Shopping started broadcasting TV homeshopping programs in 1995. Since then, it have been loved for reasonable price and credible quality. CJ Home Shopping has become a comprehensive online distribution company by diversifying business. In 1997, we started publishing catalogs, and CJmall was opened in 2001. In 2004, Dongbang CJ was established in Shanghai. We are now leading the market by developing new future channels such as M-commerce, T-commerce, IPTV, and Wibro. Content Summary In the year 2002, CJ Home Shopping opened M-commerce site CJ Mmall, earlier than anyone in the industry. ‘CJ Mmall’ is now leading the market with exceptional service model, UI, function evolving at a fast rate. CJ Mmall is also used as a platform for convergent services related to DMB, digital TV, and websites. We expect to execute wide variety of cross-media marketing strategies as well.

Global Mobile Content Awards 2007

All the programs of GMCA-Mobile Content Seminar, Business Matching and Awards Ceremony-were successfully ended. Six winners of GMCA 2007 received their awards during the ceremony in their honor on May 29th with more than 750 participants from around the world.

On May 29th, the GMCA Mobile Content Seminar sparked big interest from mobile content industry people, featuring 3 topics- Mega trend, trend & outlook in major mobile sector and business guide seminar. 11 global leaders shared their insights and opinion for the mobile field with 150 attendees.
Also at the business matching program on May 30th, over 150 meetings were arranged with about 60 companies from 12 countries making 2 times outcome than last year.

 refrence: http://www.gmcawards.org/