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  • Truphone Expands Services to 11 More Nokias


    Truphone has extened its VoIP and call-through services to an additional 11 Nokia handsets.

    The move is to capitalise on the improved the distribution channel now being offered by Nokia’s Ovi Store.

    It has had great success in both the iPhone App Store and Android Marketplace – something it hopes to repeat on the S60 platform.

    The company offers both VoIP (Truphone WiFi calling) and call-though (Truphone Anywhere) technologies.

    Smartphone.biz-news reports that with the addition of the 11 new handsets, Truphone is now compatible on 26 Nokia devices.

  • HTC Forecasts 50% US Sales Growth


    Hot on the heels of launching its third Android smartphone, HTC is forecasting its US handset sales to grow by at least 50 per cent this year.

    With the arrival of the Hero, the Taiwanese phone maker is establishing itself as the leading manufacturer of the Linux-based devices.

    The release of the Hero follows the G1 and the myTouch3G.

    Jason Mackenzie, vice president of sales and marketing for HTC America, said this would help the company drive sales despite a smarphone market packed with rivals.

    Apple, Palm and Research In Motion have all recently launched new handsets – and other major mobile makers are expected to release Android phones this year.

    Mackenzie said HTC’s forecast sales growth would represent sales of around 6 million phones in the US this year.

    "Competitively we feel very good," he said.

    AT&T Mobility is seen as the carrier that will offer the Hero in the US this fall.

    It will be available on T-Mobile and Orange in Europe in July and in Asia by late summer.

    Similar in appearance to the G1, the Hero has an updated profile – no physical keyboard – and is based on a 528 MHz Qualcomm MSM7200A processor.

    It also has two of the highly-in-demand features – a 3.5mm headphone jack and the multi-touch and fingerprint-proof 3.2" HVGA touch display (320 x 480).

    Other features include:

    • a 3.2-inch capacitive touch screen
    • 288 MB RAM
    • quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE
    • 7.2 Mbps HSPA/WCDMA radios
    • Bluetooth 2.0
    • GPS
    • digital compass
    • gravity sensor
    • 5 megapixel camera
    • MicroSD slot

    HTC has also layered its own UI – known as Sense – over and above the Google-backed Android.

    This enables addition of gesture controls, widget support, and quick-launch icons for use in web-specific applications like e-mail, Facebook, and Twitter.

    The Hero also supports Adobe’s Flash technology.

    While HTC’s Sense UI will be available on its non-Google branded Android devices, licensing terms prevent it being on any phone that’s got the "with Google" branding.

  • Palm Targeting Smartphone Growth – Not Apple


    Palm’s new CEO Jon Rubinstein believes there is sufficient growth in the smartphone market to profitably sustain "three to five players".

    He was speaking after announcing "strong and growing" sales of the company’s new Pre handset – with download applications now numbering more than 1 million three weeks after it launched.

    What Rubinstein didn’t reveal in unveiling Palm’s fourth quarter results – its last full quarter before releasing the phone – is how many Pre smartphones have actually been sold.

    Analysts estimate Palm has shipped about 150,000 units so far.

    Palm posted a narrower-than-expected fiscal fourth quarter net loss applicable to common shareholders of USD $105 million, compared with a loss of USD $43.4 million in the year-ago period.

    Palm said it could turn cash-flow positive in the second half of fiscal 2010 and reassured analysts that its capital position was sufficient.

    Revenue fell 71 per cent to USD $86.8 million.

    However, despite increased losses and falling revenues, Rubenstein said he was happy with the way the Pre launch had gone.

    While there have been problems with meeting demand at Sprint stores in the US, he said this is being addressed.

    "We’re successfully ramping supply to meet demand that is strong and growing," he said.

    The Pre, featuring Palm’s new WebOS, is entering a smartphone market full of competitors, from Nokia and RIM to HTC.

    A new iPhone 3GS launched last Friday and sold more than a million units in the first three days.

    However, Rubenstein said the "significant growth" forecast for the smartphone industry meant there is room for up to five smartphone manufacturers.

    "We don’t have to beat each other to prosper," he added

  • Truphone Expands Services to Range of Nokia Devices


    Truphone has announced that its VoIP and call-through services now support an additional 11 Nokia handsets.

    The mobile VoIP operator first offered its VoIP-only services on Nokia devices but went on to include the iPhone and Android platforms.

    With Nokia’s Ovi Store having improved the distribution channel Truphone now sees the opportunity to update its Nokia offerings.

    It has had great success in both the iPhone App Store and Android Marketplace – something it hopes to repeat on the S60 platform.

    The company offers both VoIP (Truphone WiFi calling) and call-though (Truphone Anywhere) technologies.

    With the addition of the 11 new handsets, Truphone is now compatible on 26 Nokia devices.

    Of those, software for 14 of the Truphone-compatible devices can now be downloaded from Nokia’s new Ovi store, with the software for 11 of the remaining 12 new devices to be added to the Ovi store soon.

    The new Truphone-enabled Nokia devices are:

    * N96
    * N78
    * N85 (also VoIP enabled)
    * N79 (also VoIP enabled)
    * 5630 (also VoIP enabled)
    * 5800
    * 5320
    * 6210
    * 6220
    * 6650
    * E63

    All the new handsets are Truphone Anywhere-capable and, in addition, three of the handsets – the N85, N79 and 5630 – are also compatible with the original Truphone Wi-Fi calling service.

    The full list of Nokia devices that are Truphone-compatible is:

    * E51
    * E60
    * E61
    * E61i
    * E63
    * E65
    * E66
    * E70
    * E71
    * E90
    * N80ie
    * N81
    * N81 8GB
    * N82
    * N95
    * N95 8GB
    * N96
    * N78
    * N85
    * N79
    * 5630
    * 5800
    * 5320
    * 6210
    * 6220
    * 6650

  • ZINNET Unveils Networkable HD Media Player


    ZINNET has unveiled a new HD multi-media player and BitTorrent downloader with networking capabilities.

    Called the CinemaCube, it connects to an HDTV and plays media content from USB mass storage devices.

    The device is also networkable, allowing users to enjoy media content stored on a remote PC on a living room TV. A built-in P2P BitTorrent client also means BT download can be computer free.

    Robert Lo, the Chief Operating Officer of ZINNET, which is a subsidiary of Taiwan’s Zinwell Corporation, said there is no need to download different decoders, or burn CDs or DVDs before enjoying the content.

    He said the CinemaCube supports Xvid, RMVB (Real), WMV, AVI, MP4, MKV, H.264, MP2, MP3, JPEG, BMP and PNG.

    "Times are hard, and many people have had to cancel their cable subscriptions just to make ends meet," he said.

    "They think their watching-TV-together family days are gone, and their favorite movies and shows, too.

    But thanks to the CinemaCube, the future of home entertainment is here, and it is affordable."

    Along with the CinemaCube, the ZINNET also unveiled a device called Air HD that wirelessly streams HD transmissions to an HDTV.

    The CinemaCube is USD $89.99 and the Air HD is USD $399.99.

  • Rising Demand Makes Toshiba Reconsider Blu-Ray Products


    Ever since losing the high-def format war to Blu-ray, Toshiba has resolutely refused to join the enemy camp and start manufacturing Blu-ray products.

    Until now that is. According to reports coming out of its annual shareholder meeting in Tokyo, Toshiba is considering making Blu-ray products.

    The company’s president, Atsutoshi Nishida, told shareholders that Blu-ray recorders in particular appear to be a viable option, reports CrunchGear.

    The logic appears to be that with demand for Blu-ray recorders increasing (especially in Japan) Toshiba cannot afford to miss out on a slice of that market.

    There is also Toshiba’s current financial plight – although for the current fiscal year, Nishida said his company is expected to save USD $3.5 billion after a poor 2008.

    The company’s change of attitude comes as a survey by Harris Interactive suggests the picture for Blu-ray is still far from rosy.

    It shows that the percentage of American adults with a HDTV is up from 35 in May 2008 to 47 per cent today.

    But the only 7 per cent of Americans own a Blu-ray player – up from 4 per cent a year ago. By comparison, 11 per cent of Americans own a machine that plays the now-defunct HD DVD format.

    Milton Ellis, VP and senior consultant for Harris Interactive, said only 7 per cent of non-Blu-ray owners is considering buying a Blu-ray disc player within the next year, down from 9 per cent in May 2008.

    He said Blu-ray adoption is being hampered by competition from alternative technologies, such as cable and satellite TV and the Internet, all of which offer HD content.

    "Consumers today can easily watch high-definition TV channels or use the Internet or video-on-demand to access high-definition movies," he said.

    "In the near future, access to high-definition movies may be a download or streaming delivery of one’s favorite movies to a home media server that eliminates the need for a Blu-ray player and Blu-ray disc."

    However, the Blu-ray Disc Association has challenged the accuracy of the Harris Poll.

    It said the Harris survey doesn’t chime with actual shipping and sales numbers for Blu-ray.

    The BDA cited Adams Media Research data that puts the numbers closer to nearly 8 per cent for Blu-ray and less than 1 per cent for HD DVD.

    Calling the Harris data "grossly inaccurate", the news release states that by the end of 2009, Blu-ray players will be in nearly 15 per cent of American TV homes.

    Tom Adams, president of Adams Media Research, suggested the Harris survey findings were a result of consumers’ inability to identify what exactly is next to their TVs.

    "Some people believe a DVD player on an HDTV is high-def," he said.

    "There’s just so much confusion out there. Everybody makes mistakes, but we have models that show those numbers just can’t be true."

  • Boxee Extends to all Windows Users, Adds Apps


    Boxee is extending its media center access to Windows and will shortly change its "alpha" status to "beta".

    The open source media site has also announced four major new app partnerships that will be available to everyone downloading its software.

    While Boxee has been available for Linux computers and Macs, it was only possible to get it for Windows as an invite-only alpha.

    Despite this it has gained enthusiastic following for its support of almost any major file type and Internet apps.

    Boxee has promised to keep the three platforms in sync as the service undergoes updates and upgrades.

    With around 120 apps in the Boxee App Box, users can now chose from the likes of MLB.tv, Current, Digg, and Tumblr.

    Among the new partnerships announced at its App Developer Challenge in San Francisco, the Major League Baseball one is the most interesting.

    The MLB arrangement marks Boxee’s first live streaming deal. MLB.tv Premium subs can now stream games through Boxee’s system in full HD from anywhere in the country on their TV.

  • I-MOVIX Announces New Deal with CANAL+ France


    I-MOVIX has announced a new contract with CANAL+ France to use its ultra slow motion SprintCam solution for sports broadcasting.

    The SprintCam Live V2.1 and SprintCam V3 HD offer broadcast integration and have the ability to work at 500 fps under restricted lighting conditions.

    The V3 – the first broadcast-integrated, native HD, ultra-slow-motion solution offering with instant replay – was launched in March.

    It produces slow-motion output equivalent to 20 to 40 times slower than normal speed.

    Coralie Piton, head of sports production at CANAL+ France, said the collaboration between I-MOVIX and CANAL+ France is not new.

    Both partner teams have worked together on several occasions this year, including football matches between Olympique de Marseille and Girondins de Bordeaux, Real Madrid and Liverpool, Paris Saint Germain and Olympique de Marseille and more recently, Olympique de Marseille and Olympique Lyonnais.

    Depending on the stadium, with only a little bit more than 700 LUX, CANAL+ was able to make the most of the SprintCam system unique capacity from 500 to 5,000 frames per second.

    "The I-MOVIX technology matches our expectations in terms of innovation and stunning images," said Piton.

  • IPsmarx Releases "Cost Cutting" Wholesale Softswitch


    IPsmarx Technology has released what it describes as a user-friendly all-in-one solution for managing billing routing, taxation, and complex routing tables.

    The company claims the new VoIP Softswitch will allow carriers to reduce their operating costs by automating billing and customer management processes.

    Aimed at wholesale VoIP carriers, it integrates call routing, SIP and H323 handling, advanced billing, client management, taxation and reporting.

    Arash Vahidnia, CEO of IPsmarx, said the solution offered enhanced security features and advanced database technology.

    "Carriers will also benefit from our new enhanced features, such as Distributed Architecture and Advanced Least Cost Routing along with carrier grade reliability," he said.

    In May, IPsmarx launched Unified Customer Management (UCM), a solution designed to streamline the billing process for service providers.

    Vahidnia said the new wholesale softswitch was designed based on the needs of the current carrier market.

    He said trends such as package billing and promotional bundles have been developing in the VoIP wholesale space.

    "So this new IPsmarx solution will include management tools for carriers to design their own promotional offers and rate packages," he said.

    The solution is intended for carriers at all growth stages, from start-ups to larger carriers.

  • JAJAH Connects One Billionth Call, Promises "Genuine" UC


    JAJAH has announced that it has just connected its one billionth call – a 29-year-old woman in San Francisco who was calling her mother in India.

    Not bad going for a company that launched just three years ago as a web-based consumer VoIP service and now has has over 25 million users and partnerships with the likes of Intel, Microsoft and Yahoo!

    In announcing it billionth call, JAHAH said it was particularly special because it came via one of its partners – in this case Yahoo! – which uses the JAJAH platform to operate its Yahoo! Voice service.

    Earlier this month JAJAH CEO Trevor Healy said there is a "sea change" currently taking place in the communications industry – and that has resulted in JAJAH itself evolving from a consumer VoIP focus to become a global IP communications platform provider.

    The company is currently preparing a new "in the cloud" Unified Communications Platform able to manage any form of data communication.

    It claims this will open up a new phase of genuinely unified communications – something that has been hampered by issues with interoperability and integration.