According to sources in the Taiwan handset industry, Intel will support the development of China’s mobile TV standard China mobile multimedia broadcasting (CMMB) by supporting mobile Internet device (MID) and ultra mobile PC (UMPC) platform products supporting CMMB technology.
In line with Intel’s move, a number of IT makers, including Asustek Computer, Lenovo, Haier, Samsung Electronics and Fujitsu, are reportedly planning to launch CMMB-compatible MID or UMPC products, the sources indicated.
The upcoming CMMB-compatible MID/UMPC devices will feature a display ranging from 6- to 10-inch sizes and run on either Windows Mobile or Linux operating systems, the sources noted.
The development of CMMB MID and UMPC products follows the steps that have taken by Dopod, Samsung and Motorola in the development of CMMB-compatible handsets, pointed out the sources.
Wireless Mobile Telecom Wireless News
- February 4th, 2008
- 1:20 pm
Six handset makers have been awarded post-trial period access licences to China’s 3G network, reports Xinhua. The licences will immediately give Lenovo, ZTE, Hisense, Samsung, LG and New Postcom opportunities to win procurement deals from China Mobile. The Chinese mobile operator plans to purchase 30,000 TD-SCDMA mobile phones and 10,000 data cards for 3G network trials. Three major Chinese phone operators China Mobile, China Telecom and China Netcom are conducting network trials of TD-SCDMA in ten cities.
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“The average lifespan of a mobile phone has dropped from 21 months to 18 months, which means vast numbers of mobile phones are being discarded,” said Li Jianquan, Executive Director of Quality, Service and Administration of Lenovo Mobile.
Mobile phones contain heavy metals, such as lead and beryllium, as well as bromide used as a flame retardant in the circuit boards, all of which are potentially dangerous for humans.
The cadmium contained in a single mobile phone battery can contaminate about 60,000 liters of water.
“Mobile phones, which are small and light, are often tossed into the trash and burned or buried in waste processing, leading to potential leakage of dangerous substances,” Li told Xinhua in an exclusive interview. “Mobile phone leasing overcomes that problem, making it possible to deal with discarded phones in a safe and professional manner.”
Market research indicates that students and recent graduates who cannot afford cutting-edge mobile phones, and fashion-driven high-end mobile phone fans who change phones frequently, represent a significant potential market, Li said.
“The cost of the service will be determined by a number of factors like handset cost, model and lease term,” he said.
“China’s mobile phones don’t have fixed numbers. It is easy to transfer data from a leased phone to another handset and customers will keep their SIM cards,” Li explained.
“For more details, you’ll have to wait until mid-July when we start piloting the service in Beijing,” he said. “If everything goes well, we’ll roll out the service nationwide.”
All the mobile phones concerned by the leasing service will be Lenovo models. The company will choose three other cities to pilot the service apart from Beijing, he said.
There are now 487 million mobile phone users in China with six million new users being added every month .
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Intel, Google, Dell, HP and a range of other computing, environmental and research groups have started the Climate Savers Computing Initiative. The goal of the project is to save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by setting aggressive new targets for energy-efficient computers and components, and promoting the adoption of energy-efficient computers and power management tools worldwide. The main target is 90 percent efficiency for power supplies by 2010, which if achieved, would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 54 million tons per year and save more than USD 5.5 billion in energy costs. Initial companies who intend to participate in the initiative represent both the demand and supply side of the computer industry, including computer manufacturers and chipmakers, as well as environmental groups, energy companies, retailers and government agencies. The Climate Savers Computing Initiative licensed its name from the WWF Climate Savers program, which involves several companies working to reduce their carbon footprint. The initiative’s energy efficiency benchmarks will initially follow the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star guidelines, but with increasing requirements during the next several years. Other initial members of the initiative are Advanced Micro Devices, Canonical, Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society, Coldwatt, Delta Electronics, eBay, EDS, EMC, Fujitsu, Hipro Technology, Hitachi, IBM, LANDesk Software, Lenovo, Linux Foundation, MIT, Microsoft, Natural Resources Defense Council, NEC, One Laptop Per Child, PG&E, Power-One, Quanta Computer, Rackable Systems, Red Hat, Starbucks, Sun Microsystems, Supermicro Computer, Ubuntu, Unisys, University of Michigan, Verdiem, World Resources Institute, World Wildlife Fund and Yahoo!.
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A total of 18 mobile phone producers, including ZTE, Datang Mobile, Samsung, LG, Motorola, Haier, Lenovo, TCL, and Huawei, are among the bidders for supplying TD-SCDMA handsets to be procured by China Mobile in October, according to a report by the TD-SCDMA Forum.
China Business News quoted Chen Haofei, secretary-general of TD- SCDMA Forum as saying that China Mobile is mapping out relevant final requirements for handset terminals.
He added that domestic bidders would not take a market share as big as they did in the bidding for the equipment, which stood at 85%.
At present, domestic handset producers accounted for 20% share on the domestic 2G handsets market.
He said that foreign handset producers “have not paid enough attention” on TD-SCDMA handsets, but they will maintain their consolidated position on China’s 2G handset market.
Lenovo Mobile, which is the top domestic handset brand, meanwhile said it will focus on the domestic market and TD-SCDMA handsets in the coming one or two years, according to officials.
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Intel to support development of China’s mobile TV standard CMMB (Taiwan)
