Albums Not To Miss
January 30th, 2012 | By
If you’re still stuck in the slow lane when it comes to broadband or fed up with time it takes to load anything to your smartphone, then new technology currently being trialled could soon have you zipping along through cyberspace.
Last week, everything everywhere – the company behind Orange and T-Mobile – along with BT Wholesale extended their Cornwall mobile broadband trial of 4G LTE until the end of June.
As the name suggests, 4G is the next stage for the UK’s current mobile phone data infrastructure. And while 3G ushered in a whole new wave of mobile technology and smarter handsets, 4G is set to cause a data use explosion thanks to higher speeds, greater coverage and cheaper charges for the user.
Peak download speeds for 4G LTE are as high as 1 Gbit/s when standing still, or 100 Mbit/s when moving. By contrast 3G networks offer speeds of just 200 kbit/s.
But the new 4G LTE technology is not just about speed. it is also key to helping rural areas of the UK get connected to the Internet.
In these areas, wired or cable connections may not be possible or are too expensive to build and with the Government wanting to extend broadband of at least 2Mbps to the last 10% of the population by 2015, 4G could be the answer.
In Cornwall 4G is already being used in a similar way to WiFi now, through a wireless router hub at home or a dongle that can be plugged into a laptop.
It has seen 180 customers living in and around St Newlyn East being hooked up to 4G LTE since October 2011. Previously they had no broadband or struggled along with old-style 56Kbps dial-up or broadband speeds of up to 2Mbps.
But during the trial an average download speed of 7Mbps was achieved, enough to be able to stream video comfortably, watch television and play games online.
The “LTE” stands for the Long Term Evolution standard and is already in use in countries such as Austria, Denmark and Sweden, where demand for mobile data has surged thanks to the speed increase.
Experts believe it could take up to five years before 4G is rolled out across the country with licences for the technology set to be auctioned by regulator Ofcom at some point in 2012.
It quotes recent research claiming demand for mobile data in Western Europe being set to increase by more than 500% in the next five years thanks to the popularity of smartphones and mobile data-zapping services such as streaming.
So to make room in the airwaves for 4G to work, space is partly being freed up by the analogue TV switch-off, due to be completed this year.
A single 800MHz licence will go to one single bidder who will be obliged to produce a network covering at least 95% of the country.
It is hoped the competition generated by the new 4G networks will drive down prices, creating cheaper data rates on the move.
Tamasin Battell said: “Before the 4G trial, my fiancé and I were using a dongle, and downloading anything was impossible it was so slow.
“Now, we can watch on demand television and stream music. better still, my fiancé’s sister in Australia has met her four-month old nephew for the first time over Skype. the extension of the trial is a godsend for me, as I really don’t want to go back to the digital dark age.”
Nigel Stagg, chief executive of BT Wholesale, added: “The final 10% of the country is exceedingly difficult to reach with the available standard fixed line solutions. Our proof of concept trial in Cornwall is testing the capabilities and services that a shared fixed and mobile data network can support.”
Ofcom is also hoping to use some of the 4G frequency it has available to benefit local or community projects that only need a short-range services.
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Categories: Technology Tags: lte, mobile broadband, t mobile
Nokia to Return to U.S. with Lumia 710 Smartphone
ESPOO, Finland – Nokia is gearing up to introduce the U.S. to its first smartphone powered by Microsoft’s latest Windows software, an attempt by the Finnish handset maker to break into the lucrative American market.
The debut will come next week when T-Mobile USA plans to announce that it will distribute the device, called the Lumia, at an event it is co-hosting with Nokia in New York, a person familiar with the matter said Friday.
The Lumia 710, which retails for €270 ($362) in Europe, went on sale in select countries in November. Nokia has not disclosed what the phone will cost in the U.S. or which carriers will offer service for it. Few are expecting Nokia to quickly threaten Research In Motion (RIM), whose market share ranks a distant third to phones run off of Google’s Android operating system and Apple’s iPhone. RIM’s large number of established BlackBerry users — and the logistical and cost hurdles of switching services — give the Ontario company “advantages over [Nokia and] Microsoft,” says Gartner analyst Hugues de la Verne. But the BlackBerry maker has stumbled badly this year and is now seeing falling phone shipments and a tumbling market share.
That has provided a window of opportunity for Nokia, which despite being the world’s biggest cellphone maker has just one percent of the U.S. market and is struggling to turn around its own falling sales.
Nokia ousted its chief executive last year, and in February struck a partnership with Microsoft to power its next-generation smartphones.
Chris Weber, Nokia’s U.S. head, said the company is committed to spending heavily to market the new phones in 2012. He did not give details about marketing and carrier-partnership plans. AT&T has said it is in discussions with Nokia to carry the Windows smartphones next year. a spokesperson for AT&T declined to comment.
Weber said the company wants to target first-time smartphone users. But Nokia executives say they are also going after the corporate customers that have long been toting BlackBerrys.
“There’s a very substantial business opportunity with these devices, and Microsoft and Nokia together are going after that market,” Nokia’s Chief Executive Stephen Elop said in a recent interview.
Elop said the new phones also offer search and advertising capabilities, music, gaming and location-based services that can compete with Android and Apple. “Between ourselves and Microsoft, we deliver a third ecosystem,” he said.
RIM declined to comment on the competitive threat that Nokia poses in the U.S.
RIM has promised its own next-generation phone, which it says will be run off a new operating system. RIM has not given a launch date. Analysts who had been expecting an early 2012 rollout are now looking at the second half of the year.
Read more about Nokia’s new Windows phone at the Wall Street Journal.
Nokia to Return to U.S. with Lumia 710 Smartphone
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Categories: Technology Tags: gartner analyst, hurdles, mobile usa, ontario company, t mobile
Samsung overtakes Apple to win smartphone crown
The Galaxy S II has helped drive Samsung's market share gains.
(Credit:Josh Miller)
Samsung Electronics surged past Apple in smartphone shipments in the third quarter, helped by the wide availability of its flagship Galaxy S II handset.
Samsung controlled 23.8 percent of the global market for smartphones, according to a recent study released by Strategy Analytics. Apple, meanwhile, had 14.6 percent of the market.
It’s been a rapid ascent in the smartphone world for Samsung thanks to its aggressive embrace of Google’sAndroid smartphone platform. the company built upon the early success of its flagship Galaxy S smartphones with the Galaxy S II this year, which has seen even wider consumer adoption. In the U.S., Samsung customized versions for AT&T, T-Mobile USA, and Sprint Nextel.
“Samsung has demonstrated that it is possible, at least in the short term, to differentiate and grow by using the Android ecosystem,” said Alex Spektor, an analyst at Strategy Analytics.
The market share for Samsung nearly tripled from its year-earlier market share of 9.3 percent. Apple, meanwhile, fell slightly from its 17.4 percent share from a year ago. Its share could rise again with the introduction of theiPhone 4S earlier this month.
“We believe Apple’s growth during the third quarter was affected by consumers and operators awaiting the launch of the newiPhone 4S in the fourth quarter, volatile economic conditions in several key countries, and tougher competition from Samsung’s popular Galaxy S II model,” Neil Mawston, an analyst at Strategy Analytics, said in a statement.
In total, the global smartphone shipments grew 44 percent to hit a record 117 million units, Strategy Analytics said.
Nokia, meanwhile, saw its market share retreat to 14.4 percent from 32.7 percent a year ago, as consumers opted for Android or iOS devices over Symbian. Nokia earlier this week unveiled its first Windows Phone handsets.
Corrected at 6:21 p.m. PT:The story previously used the shipment numbers in the place of the market share figures. the updated story contains the accurate market share figures.
Samsung overtakes Apple to win smartphone crown
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Categories: Technology Tags: 4s, flagship, global market, sprint nextel, strategy analytics, t mobile
Best camera phone around?
July 20, 2011 1:41 PM PDT
By: Jessica Dolcourt
HTC released its impressive T-Mobile MyTouch 4G Slide Android smartphone with much fanfare over the camera quality. The hardware has excellent low-light solutions and a sensor to improve a photo’s contrast and dynamic range, HTC said. The camera has zero shutter lag, too. In fact, HTC went ahead and called it the most advanced smartphone camera out there.
“Advanced” can mean a lot of things. it can refer to sophisticated specs, to the quantity of hardware and software options, and to the internal science behind the camera software’s processing prowess. It’s true that the MyTouch 4G Slide has a gorgeous camera interface loaded with modes and options, including some great editing features you can use before and after taking shots.
I’m no photographic guru, but in my initial tests, the camera, though very good, certainly didn’t steamroll other great camera phones. In fact, I saw evidence of shutter lag and delayed image processing, a concerning flash issue, and some images didn’t seem as clear or rich as they should have for a camera meant to blow away the competition. So I ran more tests with some of the MyTouch 4G Slide’s more-notable features, and compared them with shots taken from other great phones.
In the interest of keeping this slideshow at a manageable size, I often included comparison shots from only the best competing handset. With the exception of resizing photos, the pictures have not been digitally altered.
Photo credit: Josh Miller/CNET
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Categories: Technology Tags: camera quality, software options, t mobile
Sprint Makes CTIA Splash With 3D Smartphone, Evo Tablet
Sprint may have groaned after rival carrier AT&T announced plans earlier this week to gobble up T-Mobile, but that didn’t stop the carrier from debuting two splashy wireless devices at CTIA Tuesday.
One year after Sprint scored a hit with the Evo 4G, its first-ever WiMAX-based phone, the carrier has come back with two new Evo-branded devices: a tablet and a “glasses-free” 3D phone that runs on 4G wireless networks.
Here’s a breakdown of the new devices:
HTC Evo View 4G
What it is: a tablet with connectivity to Wi-Fi, EV-DO Rev. a and WiMAX networks.
Why you should care: While the initial iPad faced some criticism that it was essentially just a large version of the iPhone, this was actually one of the secrets to its success since it took the ease of use that was so popular with the iPhone and applied it to a tablet form factor. Sprint and HTC are basically doing the same thing with the Evo View 4G by promising to “bring the best of the HTC Evo experience into a tablet design.” in other words, customers who have been pleased with their Evo 4G phones should find the Evo View to be equally accessible.
[TABLET TUMBLE: iPad 2 vs. Motorola Xoom]
Spec check: Unfortunately, the Evo View currently runs on Android 2.3 (“Gingerbread”), which is optimized for smartphones rather than tablets. Sprint told CNET that it will push out the tablet-centric Android 3.0 (“Honeycomb”) to the Evo View as soon as it can. that issue aside, the Evo View boasts some impressive specs, including a 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 32GB of internal memory and HTC Scribe Technology that lets users take advantage of “enhanced voice-synchronized note taking with the HTC Scribe digital pen to capture the audio of a meeting at the same time as written notes.” the tablet’s 7-inch screen is smaller than those on the iPad and Motorola Xoom, but it still has a strong resolution (1024×600 pixels).
HTC Evo 3D
What it is: a smartphone that purports to offer users “a glasses-free 3D experience.”
Why you should care: although 3D televisions have yet to set the market on fire, it will be interesting to see how users react to a smartphone that can apparently offer 3D viewing without having to wear annoying 3D glasses. according to Sprint, the phone features “dual 5 megapixel cameras” that “can be used to capture both high-quality conventional and stunning 3D video images.” While such a promise might make you skeptical, the gadget review gurus over at the Boy Genius Report have played around with it and have dubbed it “amazing” and said that it reminded them of “looking at a holographic trading card.” if the Evo 3D can really deliver on that level, it could be a massive hit.
Spec check: as with the Evo View, there’s a lot to like here: a 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, Android 2.3 (“Gingerbread”) and a 4.3-inch display screen with a resolution of 960×540 pixels. You can also get dual 5MP rear-facing cameras, a 1.3MP front-facing camera and 4GB of internal memory. as with the Nexus S 4G smartphone released earlier this week, the Evo 3D will come equipped with the integrated version of Google Voice. during a Sprint media event at CTIA, Sprint CEO Dan Hesse said that the Evo 3D “is not just about the 3D experience, it sets the benchmark for performance in 2011.” with these sorts of specifications, Hesse has an argument to make.
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Sprint Makes CTIA Splash With 3D Smartphone, Evo Tablet
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Categories: Technology Tags: ipad, t mobile, wireless networks
