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  • Emoze Aiming To Be "Skype of the Push Email World"


    It was interesting to hear Eitan Linker, CEO of emoze, talk about his company’s efforts to introduce the mass market to mobile push email at the Showstopper event on the eve of Mobile World Congress 2009.

    Emoze’s free software enables users to configure multiple mobile email accounts and send and receive emails from corporate, personal and family accounts all on the same mobile.

    Linker told smartphone.biz-news that their aim is to simplify the user experience to help bring push email to as many people as possible – and obviously to emoze.

    He said while there are more than one billion email accounts globally, RIM had only 20 million Blackberry subscribers for its email services – making it very much a niche market.

    Emoze hopes to change that.

    Find below the VideoInterview:

    "We are a win, win, win option," said Linker. "It’s a win for the carriers because we drive data; it’s a win for the handset manufacturers because we are not operator dependent; and it’s a win for the user because it’s a free application that’s easy to use."

    Emoze’s goal is aided no end by the fact the software can be downloaded to a wide variety of mobile devices – from high-end smartphones to standard Java-enabled handsets.

    As well as providing access to several types of email accounts, users can also access social networks such as Facebook.

    While the application is free, users can upgrade from the basic one account option to a premium account, which allows them to have multiple accounts for EURO 1 per month.

    Emoze also offers an enterprise solution, which enabled small companies to give staff email without the need – or the cost – of upgrading handsets.

    "We are looking at the mass market and trying to make it easy for them," he said. "We are like the Skype of the push community."

    As the company’s website explains:

    "Emoze brings true mobility to the mass market by enabling users from all walks of life to turn their mobile phones and mobile devices into fully functional personal communication devices.

    "Emoze has created real push-event technology. emoze delivers real-time, secure synchronization of emails, calendars and contacts – pushing data and updates anytime, anywhere using any mobile service provider network or WiFi.

    With emoze’s unique technology, synchronization occurs every time there is an incoming or outgoing event, rather than via periodical checks for change."

  • Can Vuzix Transform Video Glasses From Geek To Chic?


    Ever fancied a pair of those video glasses but felt you’d look a bit silly? Well Vuzix has come up with a set that would easily pass for wrap-around sunglasses.

    The US company claims its Wrap 920AV is the most advanced video eyewear yet produced – offering the viewing equivalent of a 62-inch screen seen from 3m away.

    David Lock, director of Vuzix’s European operations, spoke to smartphone.biz-news at the Showstoppers event on the eve of Mobile World Congress 2009 in Barcelona.

    Click below to see a video interview with David Lock:


    He said unlike its competitors, Vuzix has concentrated on providing the best consumer viewing experience with its existing four models – rather than focusing on look and style.

    But he said the new Wrap glasses transformed the whole video eyewear from "geek to chic".

    Certainly consumer interest in this type of product seems to be hotting up – helped no doubt by the growing demand for mobile video.

    Since its launch in Europe last March, Lock said Vuzix has sold USD $500,000 worth of video glasses.

    Typical buyers range from commuters to parents buying them for teenage children to watch video on their iPods during car journeys.

    Aside from the new Wrap, it offers fours models ranging from 44" to 62" in 4:3 and 16:9 screen formats.

    The iWear VR1440 is aimed specifically at gamers.

    With removable earphones and HD 2D and 3D viewing, the glasses run off a single AA alkaline battery that provides between 5-11 hours of viewing depending on the model and use.

    The eyewear can be used with a growing list of smartphones and mobile devices.

    But if the Wrap’s more fashionable look sounds appealing, Lock said the spec’s ability to allow viewers to experience augmented reality would be just as big a selling point when they are launched in the Fall.

    Essentialy that means the glasses’ "see-thru" lens design allows users to see what is around them while watching a video display or experiencing augmented or mixed reality on mobile devices such as the iPhone.

    He is enthusiastic about the possibilities that offers – such as being able to walk around a city wearing the glasses while following directions from a GPS map on the widescreen lenses.

    We tried out the glasses at Showstoppers and the quality is impressive – what might still put some people off are the prices, which begin at USD $199 for the most basic model.

  • Bitstream Launches "Fastest Mobile Browser"


    Bitstream is launching its new BOLT mobile browser today with the claim that it is the fastest on the market.

    Sampo Kaasila, VP of R&D at Bitstream told smartphone.biz-news, that the new browser was "25-50 per cent faster" than competitor Opera.

    Speaking at Showstoppers on the eve of Mobile World Congress 2009 in Barcelona he said this was backed up by tests carried out in India.

    While he admitted the tests weren’t done independently of Bitstream, he was confident user experience would bear out the company’s claims.

    Kaasila said the BOLT beta provides a PC desktop-like view of Web pages on even the most basic feature phones.

    It will not, however, be available on the iPhone and Bitstream has no plans at the moment to change that.

    Bitstream is hoping to appeal to hordes of non-iPhone handset owners, of whom only around 15 per cent regularly browse the internet on their mobiles.

    "We are hoping to increase that percentage with BOLT," said Kaasila.

    The mobile browser includes high standards compliance such as AJAX and flash video support.

    Kaasila said it also both optimized to conserve battery life and to minimize data transmissions – so allowing people to browse longer without recharging batteries while consuming less data.

    BOLT supports streaming video from the likes of YouTube, vids.myspace.com, video.yahoo.com, blip.tv, dailymotion.com, and metacafe.com.

    Features of the BOLT public beta release include:

    • Fast, secure, desktop-style web browsing on both high-end and low-end handsets
    • Streaming flash video capabilities
    • WebKit rendering engine offers high standards compliance
    • Support for XML, ATOM and RDF formats of RSS feeds
    • Support for JavaScript and AJAX
    • Split screen and full screen modes for easy navigation and viewing
    • Intuitive keystroke shortcuts for easier navigation and content selection
    • 128-bit Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption for secure access to web pages
    • Server filtering to protect users from spyware and other malware
    • Certificate error notification
    • Easily add and select favorites and view browsing history
    • Ability to clear history and cookies

  • Barcelona Mobile World Congress Live Coverage

    Smartphone.Biz-news.com Mobile World Congress 2009 live coverage feeds.


    We are covering the Mobile World Congress 2009 from Barcelona. We will be publishing photos, interviews and company profiles. Follow the event via Twitter, FriendFeed, Flickr, RSS and here on the web.

    If you are in the congress and you want to meet use – or you are not in the congress, but you want to get in touch with us – the easiest way will be a Twitter Direct Message (DM biznews_smartph) or post a comment into our Linkedin group


    The links to follow the event online are:

    All articles will have the tag "mobile world congress". Bookmark this link to get the latest updates.

    twitter Follow the latest updates on Twitter

    or if you prefer, you can follow our updates at friendfeed

    Flickr photosview the photos we are taking on flickr.com

    you can follow the latest updates also via RSS

    This is the RSS for Voices of the Industry

    And here you have the other channels.

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  • Advertising Will Subsidise Cost of Location-based Smartphone Services


    The smartphone market is likely to see big changes in 2009 – not least in how revenue is raised for services and content.

    Kris Kolodziej, CTO and vice president of business development with Spime, told smartphone-biz.news that navigation services were currently the top revenue earner in the cell phone market.

    These were followed by traffic and buddy finder services.

    Location advertising had, however, become a major talking point in the industry.

    He said he was sure that in 2009 and 2010, it would begin to subsidise the cost of services to consumers.

    Kris Kolodziej, CTO Spime

    This would be moving towards the Google business model of offering users content and services without a charge.

    “We shall see what happens with that – the consumer expects everything for free,” he said.

    Kolodziej said Google was a competitor of Spime in this respect. Google offered its mobile maps download for free, with features such as turn-by-turn and voice search.

    “Right now the user pays USD $10 per month for navigation, so that cost would need to be subsidised with advertising.

    “We will see what happens when Google comes out with this. Only Google with so many advertisers could pull this off.”

    Spime, a Fremont, California based company is a provider of wide range of location-based technologies and applications.

    Kolodziej said that 2009 was likely to be a year of consolidation in the industry. He said fewer players usually brought benefits to the consumer, citing the acquisition of Navteq by Nokia and Wayfinder by Vodafone as examples.

    Kolodziej suggested that Spime might itself be a worthwhile acquisition target.

    “Maybe Google would acquire someone like us because features like turn-by-turn are very complicated,” he said.

    “If this goes well we might be acquired by a big company.”

    What makes companies like Spime attractive, according to Kolodziej, is the growing realisation that the services provided by navigation companies had the potential to generate a lot of money, making them a juicy acquisition proposition.

    “It’s a proven market, it just needs to expand to capture more consumers,” he said.

    With smartphones now coming equipped with GPS as standard, there is no doubt that growth will come.

  • Can Blu-ray Now Be Regarded As"Mainstream"?


    Sales of Blu-ray discs have climbed to such an extent in Europe that the high-def format is now officially "mainstream".

    At least that’s according to the cross-industry trade body, Digital Entertainment Group Europe(DEGE).

    Funded by the major Hollywood studios, the group says sales of Blu-ray software – which doesn’t include PS3 games titles – has increased five-fold in Europe, from 1.7 million units in 2007 to almost 8.5 million in 2008.

    This has no doubt been helped in part by the falling price of the discs, which are now approaching the level of DVDs.

    But the rising number of Blu-ray disc player owners is also fuelling demand for the software.

    Dedicated deck sales in the UK reached 100,000 in December.

    According to the DEGE, there are now over 2.1 million Blu-ray capable games consoles and standalone players in the UK, almost 1.4 million in France and over a million in Germany.

  • Sony Plans Movie and Game on Blu-ray Disc


    Sony is planning on creating a hybrid Blu-ray – with a game and movie on the same disc.

    The move is being viewed as a way to boost the appeal of the Playstation 3 in the face of falling prices for Blu-ray players and the increasing popularity of games consoles such as Wii and XBOX 360.

    The company is currently working on making the most of Blu-ray’s 50GB capacity by basically burning a full-length feature film to the empty space on a game-disc, which typically only uses around 30GB.

    Sony’s director of hardware marketing, John Koller, said that there will be as many as two or three releases of the new hybrid discs this year.

    "There are a lot of developers who say, we have this game based on a movie, wouldn’t it be great to marry these concepts? We will definitely see this stuff this year," Koller told VideoBusiness.

    Whether there is sufficient appeal in movie-based games remains to be seen – especially if Sony refuses to drop the prices of the PS3.

  • Vopium Launches Mobile VoIP Service In The UK


    Vopium has launched its mobile VoIP service in the UK with the promise of low-cost and free international mobile phone calls.

    The service is a free software program that uses mobile VoIP and Wi-Fi technology to reduce the cost of international phone calls on mobile.

    Vopium integrates directly with the address book on the phone, automatically re-routing all international calls via the least expensive method available.

    The service also offers users the ability to send text messages (SMS) abroad at what it says are low rates – for UK users, 9p.

    Callers are also able to make free and discounted calls using Vopium Wi-Fi.

    Tanveer Sharif, CEO of Vopium

    Tanveer Sharif, CEO of Vopium, said: "We are delighted to be able to offer low-cost and free calling options to UK mobile users who want an affordable and convenient way to make international calls."

    Users have to instal Vopium for free onto their mobile handset.

    To get started, mobile subscribers then have to either visit the Vopium website or send a text message with “Get” to 07781480717.

    The company said that once registered, all new users receive 30 free minutes of talk time and 100 free SMS.

  • 31 Million Business IP Phones Will Ship in 2012


    The IP phone market is actually a tale of two drastically different markets- business and consumer.

    The former is thriving and the latter is diverging in a drastically different direction, according to In-Stat.

    By 2012, the researchers estimate that 31 million voice-centric business IP phones will ship.

    However, In-Stat believes the consumer side of the market is radically different.

    Among voice-centric IP phones, businesses will outpace consumers more than 10 to 1.

    According to its report, the nascent consumer market for voice-centric IP phones is being subjugated by the introduction of IP media phones.

    These include the Verizon Hub and AT&T HomeManager that support both IP communications, as well as delivery of Internet information and multimedia content.

    Norm Bogen, In-Stat analyst, said IP-based communication is replacing TDM networks at a steady pace in the workplace – but adoption is slow among consumers.

    He said that even where VoIP is being used in the home, many consumers don’t realize it because IP-based cable voice services are marketed as traditional PSTN voice offerings, supported by traditional analog telephones.

    "Within the business market, corded IP phones remain the standard, and will continue to dominate the enterprise IP phone market through 2012," he said.

    "However, WLAN and IP DECT phones continue to grow, especially within some specific vertical and geographical markets."

    Recent research by In-Stat found the following:

    • Cisco, Avaya, and Nortel are leading the market for enterprise IP phones.
    • Wi-Fi integration in cellular phones is growing rapidly; however, the majority of Wi-Fi/cellular phones are not designed for VoIP.
    • Uniden holds top market share for consumer IP corded phones

  • iriver's WAVE-HOME Launches in Korea


    iriver’s WAVE-HOME is now available to KT Telecom subscribers in Korea.

    The kits is being sold for 297,000 Korean Won (approx USD $210) and features a WiFi VoIP handset in addition to a 7-inch color display with 1.3 megapixel camera.

    Unveiled at last month’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the WAVE-HOME is being billed as the ultimate all-in-one solution – providing advanced multimedia, web and phone capabilities.

    It also has an "intelligent Widget" that provides instant weather, stock and traffic updates, as well as web and multimedia services that users can enjoy without a computer since the device is connected to broadband internet.