Wireless Federation

Verizon and Telefonica along with VMware offer Android users dual-number phone software (USA, Europe)

On 10.24.11, In Mobile Operators, Mobile Solutions, By Editor

Mobile operators Verizon Wireless in the United States and Telefonica in Europe are reportedly working with software provider VMware, on a dual-number phone software which will enable users to maintain separate profiles for their personal and professional lives. According to reports, the VMware Horizon Mobile business solution will enable users to have two different phone numbers on their mobile handsets, for personal and business use. Further, Horizon Mobile users will be able to choose their own voice and data plans which will be completely separate from their corporate plan, managed by the user’s company.

As per sources, VMware claims that the solution helps to securely provision, manage and de-provision a corporate mobile workspace (email, applications, data, etc.) of a customer that uses an Android device. Handset makers LG and Samsung will reportedly be building the mobile phones containing this solution.

According to reports, Janet Schijns, vice president, Business Solutions Group, Verizon Wireless has said that Verizon Wireless and VMware are delivering a compelling new mobile security and management experience leveraging their most reliable 3G and 4G LTE network along with the proven virtualization and cloud computing platform leadership of VMware to address this enterprise trend.

Filed under:Mobile Operators,Mobile Solutions Tagged with: Android • LG • Samsung • Telefonica • Verizon • VMware

LG working on Google Android Tablet (US)

On 03.29.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Google is reportedly working on a new tablet device which will run a customized version of the Android OS, manufactured by LG and be sold under the Google brandname.

According to sources, Google approached Samsung and HTC, but both declined to participate in the product development.

Sources added that the tablet device coming out now which run on the smartphone variant of the Android OS, versions 2.x, will not be allowed to upgrade at a later date to the tablet optimized version 3.x, Honeycomb.

The new tablet which is said to be the Google Nexus T is scheduled for a mid-summer or early autumn launch and is presumably going to launch with the next upgrade to the Android OS, thought to be known as ice-cream, after Google penchant for naming its products after American deserts.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: America • Android OS • Google • Google Nexus T • Honeycomb • HTC • Ice Cream • LG • Mobile • Samsung • tablet device • UK • version 3.x • versions 2.x

Apple and other top companies sued in camera related patents (US)

On 03.24.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Imperium Holdings has filed a lawsuit against Apple, LG, RIM, Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericsson and Kyocera, claiming that they all have infringed five patents related to the cameras and imaging equipment found in phones and other mobile devices.

The patents in question are US Patent Numbers 6271884, 6838651, 6838715, 7,109,535 and 7064768, all of which relate to pixel and imager technology for smartphones and other devices. Apple’s iPhone is named as one of the infringing products.

The five patents deal in:

Patent 6,271,884: Image flicker reduction with fluorescent lighting.

Patent 6,838,651: High sensitivity snap shot CMOS image sensor.

Patent 6,838,715: CMOS image sensor arrangement with reduced pixel light shadowing.
Patent 7,064,768: Bad pixel correction while preserving features.
Patent 7,109,535: Semiconductor device for isolating a photodiode to reduce junction leakage.

As per reports, the mix of patents are actually owned by two different companies: 6,271,884 deals with image flicker reduction, owned by Conexant System of Newport Beach while the other four have the assignee listed as ESS Technology, based in Fremont, California.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: 109 • 535 • 6271884 • 6838651 • 6838715 • 7 • 7064768 • Apple • Apple iPhone • California • cameras • Conexant System of Newport Beach • ESS Technology • Fremont • imaging equipment • Imperium Holdings • iPhone • Kyocera • LG • Mobile • Motorola • Nokia • RIM • Sony Ericsson • US Patent

Cricket Wireless launches LG Optimus C (USA)

On 03.21.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Cricket Wireless has launched a variant of LG Optimus One in United States. Called the LG Optimus C, this smartphone has a slightly different design than other variants.

The internals remain same; it features 3.2-inch HVGA display, 3.2 megapixel camera, a 600MHz processor, and Android 2.2 with some minor LG UI changes.

Cricket Wireless is offering the phone for just $130 after a $20 web discount and $50 mail-in rebate, plus you will have to sign Cricket’s $55 a month unlimited Android plan to start with.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: Android • Cricket wireless • HVGA+ • LG • LG Optimus C • LG Optimus One • LG UI • Mobile • USA

LG Uplus launches digital magazine application for tablets

On 03.21.11, In Mobile, By Editor

South Korean mobile operator LG Uplus said it has developed an exclusive application, which allows users to read magazines in their original paper format on tablet PCs, to signal its entry into the digital magazine advertisement market, reports the Korea Herald. The application is accessible from both Android and Apple operating systems running on tablets such as Galaxy Tabs and iPads so that publishers won’t have to create separate versions for tablet PCs and different operating systems, the company said. LG Uplus said it plans to soon offer a special edition of a magazine on mountain-climbing via an application shop, and eventually widen the choice to other specialised magazines on areas such as economic analyses and fashion. The company hopes to continue working with the Korea Magazine Association to develop more digital magazine applications aimed at diversifying and rejuvenating related markets. LG Uplus also saw the new application as a chance to further access the growing mobile advertisement market that has grown with the introduction of smartphones and tablets. LG Uplus currently offers some 400 applications affiliated with mobile ads.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: Android • Apple operating system • Application • digital magazine • Galaxy Tabs • iPADs • Korea Herald • LG • LG Uplus • Mobile Ads • South Korean • tablets • Uplus

Korean smartphone users approach 10 mn mark

On 03.17.11, In Mobile, By Editor

If reports are to be believed, the number Korean smartphone users are approaching the 10 million thresholds. According to the report, SK Telecom has registered more than 5 million smartphone subscribers. KT Corp secured 3.7 million users and LG followed with 1 million.

The combined number topped 9.7 million, 35% higher from about 7.2 million at the end of last year.

SK Telecom added that its own 5 million subscribers, nearly seven times greater than a year earlier and 20 times that of June 2009. KT also saw its number of smartphone customers surge 35 percent since late December. LG users nearly doubled over the same period.

Roughly 60% of the sales came from just two handsets – with 3.7 Apple iPhones being sold, followed by 2.6 million of Samsung’s Galaxy S.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: Apple iPhones • Galaxy S • Korea • Korean smartphone users • KT Corp • LG • Mobile • Samsung • Samsung Galaxy S • SK Telecom • smartphone

Nokia tops Ukraine handset market with 53% share

On 03.17.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Estimate from Ukrainian distributor Yug-Contract shows that there were 8.7 million mobile handsets sold in Ukraine in 2010.

According to reports, Nokia leads the Ukrainian market with a 53% share, followed by Samsung with 36% and LG with 4%. Total sales of handsets reached US$1 billion in 2010, with the average price of a handset sold at US$115.54.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: LG • Mobile • mobile handsets • Nokia • Samsung • Ukraine • Yug-Contract

Argentina imposes restrictions on mobile imports

On 03.14.11, In Mobile, By Editor

The government of Argentina is clamping down on mobile phone imports in order to increase demand for locally produced handsets, in a move which predominantly affects BlackBerry and Apple smartphones.

Most manufacturers have some sort of local handset factory to cater to South American markets, but Apple and RIM are entirely imported.

As per reports, the clamp down comprises of delays in getting imports cleared by customs, and would range between 2-6 months.

It is also reported that about 60% of all phones sold in Argentina in 2010 were imports, with the bulk being either low-cost models from Brazil and Asia, or very high-end smartphones such as BlackBerry and iPhone handsets. The middle-market for feature phones is generally assembled from imported components by local factories operated by Huawei, Samsung, LG and Motorola.

The customs restrictions also apply to other consumer electronics, not just mobile phones.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: Apple • Argentina • Blackberry • Brazil • Huawei • imports • LG • Mobile • Mobile Phone • Motorola • RIM • Samsung • smartphones

Verizon doubts running new Nokia phones (USA)

On 02.17.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Verizon expects that there will be three dominant smartphone operating systems but worryingly for Nokia, Microsoft won’t be one of the suppliers.

Verizon Communications, Chief Technology Officer, Tony Melone confirmed that he wanted a strong third player in the smartphone OS market, as it gives the carriers more flexibility and balances the interests of all the parties.

Despite the concerns about Windows Phone 7, the company will still release models running that OS later this year, although that happens before Nokia is expected to get its own models into the market.

Nokia has traditionally been weak in the US market, partly due to its lack of CDMA handsets for the Verizon and Sprint networks. The carriers themselves were generally wary of offering Nokia handsets due to its – since resolved – CDMA patent battle with Qualcomm, which they could have been dragged into.

Melone added that even if Nokia starts building CDMA devices again, it would be very difficult for the company to get its handsets into Verizon shops in the near future.

He stated that Verizon’s device pipeline for 2011 shows strong relationships with LG, Samsung, Motorola, HTC, and now Apple.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: Apple • CDMA • chief technology officer • HTC • LG • Microsoft • Mobile • Motorola • Nokia • OS • Qualcomm • Samsung • smartphone • Sprint networks • Tony Melone • Verizon • Verizon Communications • Windows phone 7

LG boasts of Android-based Optimus Pad

On 02.15.11, In Mobile, By Editor

LG has launched Android based Optimus Pad. The LG Optimus Pad is powered by Google’s Android 3.0 platform and NVIDIA’s Dual-Core Tegra 2 mobile processor. The world’s first tablet with a 3D camera, the LG Optimus Pad supports a multimedia environment with a full HD 1080p decoding.

According to Dr. Jong-seok Park, President and CEO of LG Mobile Communications Company, with a flood of tablets hitting the market, they felt strongly that the LG Optimus Pad needed to set a new standard for what a tablet should be. The company thinks that the LG Optimus Pad achieves the right blend of portability and view ability with no performance compromises.

The pad has 8.9-inch diagonally and 149.4-mm horizontally. The company stated that its tablet device offers a sensible solution to other tablets on the market that are either too large for comfortable portability or too small for ideal viewing. With 15:9 aspect ratio, the LG Optimus Pad allows users access to the full range of applications in Android Market and its 1280 x 768 WXGA resolution displays multimedia content in full widescreen format.

The LG Optimus Pad will begin shipping in local markets starting from the next month.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: Android • Dr. Jong-seok Park • Dual-Core Tegra 2 mobile processor • Google • LG • Mobile • NVIDIA • Optimus Pad • President and CEO • WXGA