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.

Near future of near field

Your pants pockets may soon be obsolete.

Or a few of them, at least, if near-field communication (NFC) catches on. The technology would let you store a lot of what you keep in your wallet — most significantly credit cards and cash — on your cell phone.

Near-field communication is a simple technology that transfers small amounts of data via radio frequency identification (RFID) transponders. It’s similar to technology used in contactless credit cards such as MasterCard’s PayPass or Esso’s Speedpass. The difference is that NFC will follow industry-wide standards, which would allow devices universal access instead of just at specific stores or gas stations. A group called the NFC Forum — a partnership between Sony, NXP, Microsoft, Visa, MasterCard and more than 110 other companies and organizations — is in charge of setting NFC’s standards.

Justin Oberman, a New York-based new media consultant, heard about an NFC trial in New York City from a friend who worked at Citibank. There have been similar trials in different markets across the world to test the technology and gage consumer’s reactions. This particular trial was a partnership between Citibank, MasterCard, Cingular (now AT&T) and Nokia.

Enlarge ImageCellphones equipped with specialized RFID transponders may one day replace credit and bank cards. (Philips)

• A video demonstration of what NFC-enabled phones can do 

After signing up online, Citibank sent Mr. Oberman to an unveiling in Bryant Park. Clerks gave him a new phone. At another spot they took his SIM card from his old phone and put it in the new one and then sent text messages that linked to sites where Mr. Oberman could download software and register with his bank. Scattered around the tent they had set up were “smart” objects that worked with the phone. Tapping a movie poster accessed the movie’s trailer. Tapping the Citi display downloaded the bank’s commercial.

An NFC chip costs about $2 U.S. and can be attached to almost anything. Cellphones, however, are proving to be the device of choice. “We did a number of surveys and focus groups with customers basically investigating which options [they] would be comfortable with, interested in, to make a payment,” says Simon Pugh, MasterCard’s senior vice president of infrastructure and standards for advanced payments solutions. “Number one was the card, not surprisingly. But number two was the mobile phone.” Other options MasterCard investigated were keys, watches and handbags.

In May 2006 ABI Research predicted 50 per cent of cellphones — 500 million of them — would be NFC-enabled by 2010 because of its wide range of applications. But wireless operators have been hesitant to buy into the concept until clear revenue-generating models are established. In September 2006, ABI downgraded its prediction to 30 per cent by 2011. Last April they further downgraded their forecast to 20 per cent of the worldwide market by 2012 — 292 million handsets.

“We’re in a bit of a chicken and egg situation at the moment, to be honest,” says Mr. Pugh. “The mobile operators are deciding when to ask the manufactures to build commercial quantities of the products. The manufacturers are sitting, waiting for commercial orders. The banks are saying: ‘we’re keen on doing this but we don’t see them commercially available yet.’ So all of the entities are sort of circling waiting for someone to move.”

To cope with the problem MasterCard has followed a “cards first” strategy, using their contactless PayPass cards, in part, as a stepping stone to NFC phones. The technologies are very similar, but PayPass doubles as a traditional credit card. This gives consumers the option to treat it like a traditional credit card and test the new technology at their leisure. At the same time, it puts an infrastructure in place for NFC-enabled phones and familiarizes consumers with the concept.

“I think the biggest issue that they’ll have to overcome if they want to see broad acceptance is around security,” says Chris Ziegler, associate mobile editor for the technology blog Engadget. “A lot of people are concerned that it’s going to make it extremely easy to steal your credit card information.”

To deal with security concerns phone manufacturers offer customizable features that require users to authorize transactions by typing a PIN into their handsets. Credit card companies typically offer the same security and liability limits as they do with their other contactless products (PayPass, ExpressPay, etc.). And the encryption of the transmitted data itself is quite robust. But consumer fear sometimes has little to do with a technology’s actual specifications — it may be a PR battle rather than a technical one.

Next Generation Contact-free file transfer with Wireless USB

Wireless USB means you’ll be able to wirelessly download images and file.

The Wireless USB Promoter Gorup said this week that version 1.1 of the Wireless USB specification will include “touch and go” capabilities used by Near Field Communication (NFC) technology.

Put simply, the spec will allow devices to be brought into close proximity with the host, allowing them to be instantly associated, without the need for manual setup.

The Wireless USB specification, version 1.0, is slowly rolling out as part of wireless devices. Both IOGEAR and Icron have announced their own Wireless USB hubs, although both are pricey: $395, in the case of the Icron hub.

The 1.1 spec will be finalized in the first half of 2008. Typically, products based upon a new specification revision require an additional six months or so before they’re brought to market.

In addition, the new spec will provide frequencies of above 6 GHz, and include provisions to enhance power efficiency for better battery life. The NFC protocols that the spec will support have been used in wireless payment applications, where a smartcard or a mobile phone is brought close to a receiver, and an encrypted data transmission is performed.

Wireless USB is, as the name suggests, a wireless version of the wired USB protocol, running over an ultrawideband radio. The specification is led by Intel, with many of the competing products shifting to trying to run high-def video and audio data between CE components.

“The Wireless USB 1.1 Specification builds on the key features – speed, ease of use, and security – that have made the 1.0 specification so successful,” said Jeff Ravencraft, USB-IF president. “The Wireless USB Promoter Group will define new features that make a great specification even better to improve product offerings for manufacturers and ultimately enhance the end-user experience.”

Near Field Communication (NFC)

Near Field Communication (NFC) is a new, short-range wireless connectivity technology that evolved from a combination of existing contactless identification and interconnection technologies. Products with built-in NFC will dramatically simplify the way consumer devices interact with one another, helping people speed connections, receive and share information and even make fast and secure payments.

Operating at 13.56 MHz and transferring data at up to 424 Kbits/second, NFC provides intuitive, simple, and safe communication between electronic devices. NFC is both a “read” and “write” technology. Communication between two NFC-compatible devices occurs when they are brought within four centimeters of one another: a simple wave or touch can establish an NFC connection, which is then compatible with other known wireless technologies such as Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. The underlying layers of NFC technology follow universally implemented ISO, ECMA, and ETSI standards. Because the transmission range is so short, NFC-enabled transactions are inherently secure. Also, physical proximity of the device to the reader gives users the reassurance of being in control of the process.

NFC can be used with a variety of devices, from mobile phones that enable payment or transfer information to digital cameras that send their photos to a TV set with just a touch. The possibilities are endless, and NFC is sure to take the complexities out of today’s increasingly sophisticated consumer devices and make them simpler to use.

Telenor Pakistan selects Nokia Intellisync Wireless Email

November 29, 2007

New York, NY, USA – Nokia today announced that mobile operator Telenor Pakistan will offer Nokia Intellisync Wireless Email to its consumer customers, small-meditum enterprises (SMEs), and large corporations. The service, branded as “SmartMail”, is currently available.

 

Telenor Pakistan started mobile operations in March 2005 and today owns the fastest growing and the largest mobile data network (EDGE based), in the highly competitive mobile market of Pakistan. According to Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) the mobile penetration rate reached approximately 43 percent in August 2007. By comparison, Pakistan’s fixed line market is moving slowly, reaching only a tenth of the mobile teledensity.

 

“Nokia Intellisync Wireless Email supports all kinds of mobile devices from entry level phones to high-end smartphones for professionals, this together with Telenor Pakistan’s largest EDGE coverage in Pakistan will provide customer convinence to all service subscribers” said CMO Telenor Pakistan Sigvart Voss Eriksen.  “A fast growing market such as ours demands a flexible solution that offers not only the possibility to host the solution for consumers and SMEs, but also to meet the special requirements of large corporations,” Eriksen added.

 

“Nokia Intellisync Wireless Email supports more than 100 devices from various vendors – the broadest support in the industry — allowing Telenor Pakistan to deploy email on a range of devices to meet the needs of various customers,” says Scott Cooper, senior vice president, Mobility Solutions, Enterprise Solutions, Nokia. “Given the highly scalable platform, Telenor Pakistan is well prepared for further fast growth of their customer base, followed by increasing demand for mobile access to email.”

 

Nokia Intellisync Wireless Email is part of Nokia Intellisync Mobile Suite that provides access to powerful collaboration tools such as email, contacts, calendar, device management and synchronization of files, data and enterprise applications. Nokia Intellisync Wireless Email works in any groupware environment – ISP, Microsoft Exchange, Lotus Notes or Groupwise and can run on any kind of device platform – Symbian, Windows, Palm J2ME, or Pocket PC. The highly scalable email solution supports for more than 100 different devices in addition to Nokia Eseries portfolio.

 

refrence: www.nokia.com

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/

Nokia plans cellphone of future

Nokia is marking a new direction in cell phone technologies, testing wireless mobile phone headsets powered by tiny fuel cells – a hydrogen-based energy source, which can increase the life of portable devices. The cells are recharged by squirting methanol from a small container into a tiny internal tank on the headset, and each charge provides about 10 hours of talk-time. Motorola, Fujitsu and Toshiba are also investing heavily in the research, mostly for batteries for laptop computers.The company is also working to incorporate RFID, which stands for radio frequency identification, into cellphones. “RFID could be a real convenience booster,” Yrjo Neuvo, Nokia’s chief technology officer said. “It’s two-way communication that can do much more than a bar code can do.”

Another part of the phone getting Nokia research attention is the screen. According to Tero Ojanpera, head of the Nokia Research Center, the screens “don’t have to be rigid, either. They could be wearable, bendable, why not stretchable,” depending on the materials.

Ojanpera also mentioned much more distant technologies that could evolve out of mobile phones: a phone that uses infrared vision, or a phone that records and enhances the sounds or speech around you automatically. “So no more missed introductions at cocktail parties,” he said.

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.