Tunisiana Telecom receives 3G and fixed-line licences (Tunisia)
Telecom operator Tunisiana Telecom has received the required licences to operate fixed line and 3G mobile services in the North African country. According to reports, the Ministry for Information Technologies and Communications said that the operator will pay $132 million for these rights.
The minister claims that this bid will enhance considerably the competitiveness of the Tunisian communication market and ensure easy access to the fast speed Internet countrywide.
The operator is expected to launch its 3G network in July 2012, while it will offer its fixed-line services in early 2013.
China Mobile to launch 4G service on 25 April (Hong Kong)
Telecom operator China Mobile Ltd., is looking to roll out its 4G services in Hong Kong by the end of this month.
According to reports, Sean Lee, chief executive officer of China Mobile Hong Kong Co., said, a total of 10 4G phones will become available for customers this year. Moile operator Telstra (CSL) is already offering the advanced fourth- generation services since its launch in 2010.
China Mobile claims that the high-speed service, based on LTE technology, offers maximum download speeds of 100 megabits a second, or as much as 50 times quicker than 3G.
The 4G/LTE service lets users stream high defination videos and download games at much faster speeds, thereby catering to their needs of more mobile data and improving customer experience.
Samsung to launch the Galaxy S3 on May 3 (South Korea)
South Korean manufacturer has confirmed that it will be releasing the Samsung Galaxy S3 on May 3. The smartphone was announced by the company at the Mobile World Congress 2012 held in Barcelona and is expected to be promoted as the official smartphone of the 2012 Olympic Games, as per reports.
The Samsung Galaxy S3 will be launched simultaneously in New York, Seoul and Dubai. As per rumours doing the rounds regarding the successor of the Galaxy S2, the S3 is expected to be powered by Google Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) and a quad-core 1.5 GHz Exynos processor.
Further the phone is said to have a 4.65” AMOLED SuperPlus HD display, with a resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels. The S3 would boast of a 1 GB RAM with 32 GB storage capacity. There are two cameras in the phone, a 2 megapixels camera in front and a 8 megapixel rear camera offering HD recording. Reports reveal that the phone will be compatible with the LTE network as well.
The launch of the new Samsung Galaxy S3 will be held at Earl’s Court in London, on May 3.
HTC reports 70 percent decline in profit (Taiwan)
HTC Corporation, a global leader in mobile innovation and design, announced the unaudited consolidated results for 1Q 2012. For the first quarter of 2012, total revenues reached $2.3 billion, a decrease of 34.92 percent year-on-year.
The company has said that first-quarter net income was $151 million, a 70 percent drop from a year earlier. As per reports, rivals Apple and Samsung have given stiff competition to HTC causing the profits to slump.
The handset maker will introduce the One series in an attempt to compete with the Apple iPhone 4S and the Samsung Galaxy smartphone range. Reports reveal that the series is expected to be launched this month across markets.
Vodafone launches first German carrier communications service (Germany)
Vodafone will offer the first network operator in Germany as the new communications service, RCS-e. RCS-e, which stands for “Rich Communication Suite enhanced” by the industry association GSMA is a standard developed for easy and secure communications that will be launched globally by many mobile network operators.
Soon Vodafone first smartphones with software installed for the use of RCS-e will offer in trade. With many smartphones already available RCS-e can be used in the next few months, this is possible through free updates. To introduce the use of RCS-e in the Superflat Internet tariffs will be included.
With RCS-e-phone users can now easier than ever to send and receive messages, share files such as documents, pictures and videos with each other and also take part in an ongoing voice call, a video-link and see as their interlocutor. All functions can easily be started directly via the contacts stored in the address, the service is integrated seamlessly in this smartphone. Customers benefit from entirely new possibilities for communication, for RCS-e is a by operators globally supported service. For example, the network speed between transmitter and receiver is detected automatically, so for example, video calls, or photos and videos in the highest quality possible in each case by the fastest means to be transmitted securely.
Erik Friemuth, head of retail banking at Vodafone Germany, said that they introduced the first LTE network operators introduced in this country and are now underscoring their role as an innovative pioneer as the first provider of RCS-e in Germany. He added that their customers can now easily over any other than chat ever with each other to stay on video telephony in touch, share photos and videos live and share files. In communication is their core competency and they emphasize the rapid introduction of RCS-e.
To ensure that customers of different network operators communicate with each other messages and files, and video phone calls to the GSMA has developed so-called extensive interoperability testing. Everyone wants to offer network operators, the RCS-e, it must go through to ensure high quality and safety requirements and the availability of RCS-e these tests and are certified for this purpose.
The mobile network operators that will support the service in Germany, are next to the German telecom Vodafone and O2. Smart phones with preinstalled software RCS-e will come for example from equipment manufacturers such as HTC, Huawei, LG, Nokia, Samsung and Sony Ericsson. More details to RCS e timely given the launch of the service, Vodafone announced.
Apple Launches New iPad (USA)
US handset giant, Apple has introduced the new iPad — the third generation of its category-defining mobile device — featuring a stunning new Retina display, Apple’s new A5X chip with quad-core graphics, and a 5-megapixel iSight camera with advanced optics for capturing incredible photos and 1080p HD video.
As per the company, iPad with Wi-Fi + 4G connects to fast networks worldwide, including AT&T’s and Verizon’s 4G LTE networks, and still delivers the same all-day 10-hour battery life while remaining amazingly thin and light. The new iPad will be available in black or white through the Apple Online Store and in Apple Retail stores on Friday, March 16, beginning at $499.
Customers can begin pre-ordering their new iPad on the Apple Online Store. Further, company report states that the iPad 2 will be offered at a more affordable price, starting at just $399 .
The Retina display on the new iPad features a 2048-by-1536 resolution, 44 percent greater color saturation, and an astounding 3.1 million pixels — in the same 9.7-inch space. That’s four times the number of pixels in iPad 2 and a million more than an HDTV. The Retina display transforms the entire iPad experience, so everything looks and feels incredibly lifelike and perfectly detailed.
The new iPad features Apple’s 5-megapixel iSight camera. The 5-megapixel iSight camera features a backside illumination sensor that captures great-looking pictures whether by sunlight or candlelight. The new iPad offers the most comprehensive support for networks around the world. It’s designed with cellular antennas that access a larger frequency spectrum.
Further, the new iPad supports fast cellular networks the world over — up to 4G LTE. So users can browse the web, stream content, or download a movie at blazing-fast speeds.
Sprint corrects statement of triple sale of HTC Evo (USA)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The earlier statement by Sprint Nextel in which it announced that the HTC ‘Evo 4G’ WiMAX-capable handset’s first-day sales volume was three times the combined volume of Samsung Instinct and Palm Pre devices sold over their first three days on the shelves has been corrected.
Sprint clarified that the Evo did break the company’s record for the highest number of phones sold on a single day last Friday, at six times higher than on the launch day of the Instinct and twice as many as on the Pre’s first day.
Contrary to what the company announced, the Evo first-day sales figures were approximately equal to the other two models’ combined volume in their first three days.
Samsung plans to launch tablet computer with SK Telecom (Korea)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Samsung has planned to launch a tablet computer in collaboration with Korean communications firm SK Telecom. sPad is the tentative name of the tablet computer and is expected to hit the stores in August.
Android operating system will run the device and it will have a 7-inch touchscreen display.
Samsung plans to launch an 8-inch model in October followed by a 10-inch version in December.
Sony Ericsson launches new device, seeks to rise profitability (South Korea)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: After posting its first quarterly net profit in the three months ended March 31, Mobile handset maker Sony Ericsson, a joint venture between Japan’s Sony Corp. and Sweden’s Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson aims to maintain profitability on the basis of lower costs and new product launches.
The handset maker’s new application, “Timescape,” allows users to simultaneously see a record of their call. It also announced that it will partner with SK Telecom Co., South Korea’s largest wireless services operator by revenue, to offer the smartphone. The new device offered by SK Telecvom will have an 8.1-megapixel camera and a 16-gigabyte memory card and will be sold for around KRW800,000-KRW900,000 ($751).
While speaking on the sidelines of a product launch in Korea, Hirokazu Ishizuka, head of the company’s Asia-Pacific region hoped that its high-end line of smartphones including Xperia and Vivaz will help improve its bottom line in the quarters ahead. Korea has been described as one of the most important markets for Sony Ericsson with great potential for Sony Ericsson’s future as the number of smartphone users has nearly doubled from the end of last year to 2 million in May.
Analysts feel that world’s fifth vendor in terms of mobile shipments globally; Sony Ericsson has an uphill battle in South Korea to compete with local vendors such as Samsung and LG Electronics as well as Apple, which launched its iPhone in the South Korean market in November.
According to analysts, Samsung and LG will aggressively launch their Android-powered smartphones this year; it seems highly unlikely that Sony Ericsson could succeed in Korea with its new device and added that Sony Ericsson faces challenges because it has a big exposure to the European market which has been suffering from the economic turmoil in Greece and Spain.
