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  • DTV Transition Delayed Until June


    The US House of Representatives has approved a delay in the cutoff date for analog television broadcasts. 

    The delay is to give more time to the estimated 6.5 million people unprepared for the switchover to digital broadcasts. 

    The date was pushed back four months to June 12, 2009. 

    Only last month, the House of Representatives voted against a delay. 

    With full support from President Barack Obama, the bill is likely to be signed into law fairly quickly when it reaches the White House. 

    The decision is likely to cost taxpayers, broadcasters, and the companies that paid USD $19 billion for the right to use the radio spectrum frequencies that will be freed up from the change, many millions. 

    What could prove frustrating – to say the least – to those hit with costs as a result of the delay is that commentators suggest at least 5 million people may still be unprepared even with the extension to June.

    Another area of possible problem area surrounds Congress’ decision to give stations the option of sticking to the original date 17 February date.

    So while the mandatory switchover has been moved back, some stations could individually cut off their analog signals.

    A situation could arise where half a city’s local OTA stations go all-digital mid-February, while others delay things until June.

    This will not happen with most of the major US television networks – including CBS, ABC, FOX and NBC – as they have decided to fall back to the new June date to prevent chaos.

  • Digium Adds New US Features To Latest Version of Switchvox IP PBX


    Digium has introduced a new version of Switchvox SMB, its IP PBX designed for small- to mid-sized businesses (SMBs). 

    Switchvox’s web-aware capabilities allow its integration with web and back-office applications, effectively turning the phone system into a unified communications (UC) platform. 

    Switchvox SMB 4.0 adds various UC capabilities, including support for fax, chat and video calling, which the company says improve users’ productivity and efficiency. 

    Josh Stephens, general manager of Digium’s San Diego operations and a co-creator of Switchvox, said the IP PBX has always leveraged web technologies more than other competing products. 

    He said they had integrated Switchvox with Google maps and web-based CRM software such as Salesforce and SugarCRM. 

    "We’ve also provided easy-to-use APIs that enable businesses to quickly tie together their back-office software that they rely on day to day with their Switchvox IP PBX," he said. 

    "Now, support for instant messaging, fax and video calling, plus additional IVR functionality and a range of new benefits for administrators and users alike make Switchvox SMB 4.0 a truly web-aware UC solution." 

    To add to the appeal of the latest version of Switchvox SMB 4.0, it is available free of charge to customers with a current Switchvox SMB software subscription. 

    For new customers, Switchvox SMB USD $3,390 for a 10 user system, including hardware, software, a one-year subscription and warranty. 

    The entire line of Switchvox SMB appliances, the largest of which scales to serve 400 users, will be available from Digium and partners world-wide beginning on 3 March, 2009. 

    Danny Windham, CEO of Digium, said Switchvox is the first time that advanced unified communications features have been made available to SMBs that might not have big-company budgets. 

    He said these organisations are as reliant as anyone on their phones, e-mail, fax, chat and video and on the web to improve employee communications and efficiency. 

    "With Switchvox SMB 4.0, Digium brings all of these elements together and significantly integrates the business phone system with web applications in a way that we believe is unique today."

  • Toshiba Offers New Smartphone With 1GHz Snapdragon Chipset


    Toshiba could well steal the spotlight away from some bigger smartphone names with the launch of its latest high-end handset at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

    Called the TG01, it’s the first announced device with Qualcomm’s 1GHz Snapdragon QSD2850 chipset with dynamic speed control to ensure good battery life.

    The super-slim 9.9mm device has an impressive 4.1 inch WVGA resistive screen and features a virtual trackpad.

    As the successor to the G910, it also features Toshiba’s own 3D user interface, which boasts vertical blinds and swiping gestures.

    Phone calls can be answered by shaking the phone, and the accelerometer can also be used to rotate the screen.

    Armed as it is with the 1GHz chipset, it will runs Windows Mobile 6.1 at pace, as well as full Flash.

    The device has the standard Windows Mobile feature set: HSDPA, WIFI, GPS and microSD memory expansion.

    The smartphone is expected to be available in Europe in Q3 2009, but may be exclusive to some carriers.

    Pricing should be similar to the HTC Touch HD.

  • Samsung Primes App Store and 12-megapixel Camera Phone


    Samsung is to launch a mobile applications online store later this month at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

    It also has a host of handsets lined up for their debut in Spain, including what is being touted as the world’s first 12-megapixel camera phone.

    The app store is expected to launch with 1,100 applications for Samsung S60 and Windows Mobile devices.

    It will initially only be for UK customers.

    In a refreshing move, the online store will have no initial or ongoing costs for developers associated with marketing or hosting software.

    Samsung will allow freeware to be distributed at no cost to the developer.

    If or when the app store is to be enlarged to other markets is not clear, nor are Samsung’s plans to support other platforms.

    As well as the launch of the 12-megapixel camera phone in Barcelona, Samsung is expected to announce an upgrade to its 8-megapixel Innov8 camera phone, possibly with a nifty 3.5" zoom lens.

  • Handset Names Key To US Smartphone Market Share?


    Forget a stylish smartphone packed with cutting edge features – if you want it to sell give it a cool name.

    At least that’s what research by Strategic Name Development (SND) claims in a report that links higher market share with cell phones having names that consumers prefer.

    The study suggests that Nokia’s "clinical-sounding alphanumeric names" are why the Finnish phone giant fails to connect with US consumers.

    Equally, Motorola’s succesful use of 4LTR names – RAZR, ROKR, SLVR, PEBL – eventually became jaded with KRZR and consumers stopped buying.

    The study by SND argues that its claims on the importance of a phone’s name are borne out by both companies’ experiencing a falling market share.

    Between 2004 and 2006, Motorola’s market share peaked at 35 per cent but after it introduced the KRZR in late 2006, this fell to 21 per cent by the second quarter of 2008.

    William Lozito, president of SND, a brand naming consultancy, said names created a distinct sense of identity and personality.

    He said thay also offered a way for people to connect with the product on an emotional level.

    "Names matter," he said.

    Lozito said it was no coincidence that LG and Samsung had identical US market shares of 16 per cent in Q3 2005, and 20 per cent in 2008.

    He said this was because they introduced very similar product naming strategies.

    The researchers praised LG and Samsung’s choices – LG’s Chocolate, Shine and Vu "appeal to the senses", while Samsung’s BlackJack, Juke and Glyde brought "fresh naming innovation" to the category.

    “Conversely, during the same period, Nokia continued a less popular naming convention and its US market share dropped from 16 per cent to 9 per cent," said Lozito.

    For some unexplained reason, the survey only looked at Motorola, LG, Samsung and Nokia – and was limited to the US market.

    And while a great name undoubtedly sets the tone for a phone, can it really condemn a handset to failure?

    We would be really interested to hear how important you think a name is to a smartphone’s success.

  • Google Launches Latitude Friend Finder Service


    Google has launched a new mobile service called Latitude that lets users see the location of friends who opt to share their whereabouts.

    It adds to the existing location-awareness function on Google Maps but is also an iGoogle gadget for a computer.

    The service allows users to see friends’ locations on a map and gives the option to make contact directly via SMS, Google Talk, Gmail, or by updating a status message.

    Google stresses it recognizes the sensitivity of location data, so it’s built privacy controls into the application.

    Users control exactly who gets to see their location, but can also decide the location that they see.

    The service uses cell-phone tower triangulation, GPS or Wi-Fi to find their location.

    As of launch, Latitude is available in 27 countries but Google expects to add to the list shortly.

    It runs on Blackberry, S60 and Windows Mobile, and will be available on Android in the next few days. It is expected to become available for the iPhone, through Google Mobile App, very soon.

  • Is The Glofiish DX900 Really Acer's First Smartphone?


    With anticipation growing about Acer’s entry into the smartphone market later this month, there are suggestions its first offering might simply be a rebranded Glofiish DX900.

    The Taiwanese computer giant acquired E-Ten in mid-2008 – maker of the DX900 – a handset that includes dual-SIM support, a 3-megapixel camera, a 2.8-inch VGA quality touchscreen display, GPS, Wi-Fi and runs Windows Mobile 6.1.

    Reports have also suggested that the new Acer smartphone will in fact be a totally new design and come with a rotating swivelling hinge for the keyboard.

    Whether this is the case or Acer is simply going to unveil the Glofiish smartphone at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona with its own badge remains to be seen.

    If the latter were the case, it would be a little disappointing.

    But the MWC invite did specify there would be a "launch" – so hopefully that’s what we are going to get.

  • France's Digital Switchover Begins


    The city of Coulommiers near Paris is the first in France to make the switchover to digital TV as part of a pilot project ahead of the full national transition.

    France Télé Numérique said 94 per cent of households in the city of 14,700 were equipped with at least one digital TV set 20 days before the switchover.

    As the figure suggests – US authorities take note – a scheme to help people update their TV equipment from old analog televisions has proved very succesful.

    The signal was cut by French minister of Culture, Christine Albanel, newly named Secretary of State for Prospective and digital economy development, Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet and CSA president Michel Boyon.

    The digital switchover will continue in the other pilot cities of Kaysersberg (Alsace) and Cherbourg (Cotentin), where 200,000 people will be affected.

    The process will then roll-out through 2010 with a completion date set for 30 November,2011.

    Launched in 2005, DTT currently covers 87 per cent of the population but analog television is still a reality for 29 per cent of French households.

  • Euro HD To Nearly Triple In Five Years


    The number of HDTVs in European households is set to rise from 59 million now to 170 million by 2013.

    What’s more encouraging is the number of HD channels distributed in Europe should go from the current 130 to more than 600 in the same period, according to a study by NPA Conseil and Euroconsult.

    The boost to high-def content should hopefully go some way to address Europe’s dismal performance compared to the US and Japan.

    An In-Stat study recently highlighted the fact that 61 per cent of the global total of 36 million HDTV households – defined as households having both an installed HD-capable TV set and also receiving and watching HD programming – are in the US.

    Last year, France was the first in Europe to launch an HD platform on DTT.

  • DiBcom Launches Programmable Mobile TV Solution


    DiBcom is to launch a new platform that offers device manufacturers a solution to the problem of multiple standards worldwide for fixed and mobile TV.

    Known as Octopus, the platform is based on a programmable architecture that enables one design to be seamlessly and cost-effectively targeted at many existing and upcoming mobile TV standards.

    DiBcom said the first commercialised version is fully compliant with the most widely deployed standards today: CMMB, DVB-T, DVB-H, DVB-SH, ISDB-T (1SEG & Full-SEG) and T-DMB. Other emerging standards such as ATSC M/H, DVB-T2, and any others, will follow.

    Khaled Maalej, CTO of DiBcom, said existing multi-standard components combine the circuitry of some standards in one chip with minimum optimisation.

    He said Octopus, however, is based on one programmable, broadcast specific, vector signal processor (VSP) and is able to handle any standard by adapting its microcode.

    The VSP engine is integrated with a multi-mode channel decoder and MAC, memory and a power management unit (PMU), therefore offering optimal power consumption for each standard.

    Manufactured using 65nm technology, the Octupus platform comes with a multi-band RF tuner in two package options, and in either single or diversity (dual-antenna) configurations.

    DiBcom said the advantages offered by the new platform include:

    • A universal and cost-effective architecture ideal for a one-to-many strategy (all regions, all applications addressed with one device)
    • High performance at low power consumption in all functional modes
    • An integrated PMU for a simpler system design (one voltage input), efficient power consumption and longer battery life
    • No unnecessary hardware duplication or reliance on powerful CPU’s as required by other multi-standard solutions
    • Embedded descramblers for all conditional access (CAS) protected content

    Possible applications for the Octopus platform include the automotive, PC/notebook, PMP, PND, mobile phone as well as LCD TV and Set-Top-Box market sectors.

    Yannick Levy, CEO of DiBcom, said handset manufacturers now had the opportunity to increase their volumes of mobile TV terminals based on the Octopus platform since they can ship them to any region in the world by simply loading the appropriate software.

    "Availability of a large choice of terminals is a major market enabler," he said.

    Octopus component samples will be available in early Q2 2009.