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Tag: hardware-and-technology

  • iPhone and Nexus One Get a Software Update

    Two smartphone giants – iPhone and Nexus One – got a software update yesterday.

    Apple released iPhone OS 3.1.3 for iPhone and iPod touch that improves accuracy of reported battery level on iPhone 3GS, resolves issue where third-party apps would not launch in some instantes and fixes bug that may cause an app to crash when using the Japanese Kana keyboard.

    The update relates to security issues with:

    • Recovery Mode: a person with physical access to a locked device might be able to access the user’s data. The update improves handling of the USB control message;
    • WebKit: accessing a maliciously crafted FTP server could result in an unexpected application termination, information disclosure, or arbitrary code execution. The update addresses the issues through improved parsing of FTP directory listings;
    • CoreAudio: playing a maliciously crafted mp4 audio file might lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution. This issue is addressed through improved bounds checking;
    • ImageIO: viewing a maliciously crafted TIFF image might lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution. Apple fixes it also through improved bounds checking.

    The update is compatible with all iPhone and iPod touch models and is available for download from iTunes.

    Also Nexus One users began to receive an over-the-air software update on their phones yesterday. This update fixes a few problems and provides some new features, including:

    • Multitouch: Nexus One will now include a new pinch-to-zoom mechanism in the phone’s Browser, Gallery and Maps applications;
    • Google Goggles: this application will now be available directly on the device by launching it from All Apps menu;
    • Google Maps: the Maps will be updated to a new version, Google Maps 3.4, which will include starred items synchronized with maps.google.com, search suggestions from the personal maps.google.com history as well as night mode in Google Maps Navigation that automatically changes the screen at night for easier viewing and driving.

    Google said they will also provide a general fix to help improve 3G connectivity on some Nexus One phones.

    The company also informed that this update will be rolled out gradually to phones – and most users might not receive the notification until the end of the week.

  • Is an iPad a Revolutionary Device?

    After all the rumors and geek’s dreams… I’m almost sure some people get disappointed about the device and the general consensus among the people I spoke with about the iPad is that “Wow! But is not for me,” or “It’s only for geeks.”

    Yeah, Wednesday’s presentation was quite impressive and I have to agree that it would be nice to have such a device. But if I already have a computer and an iPhone… the only reason to buy the iPad would be that is not so expensive and that I love to have gadgets.

    But I have to be positive on it. I think it will make a huge difference and it’s the first of a new category of devices that will come sooner than expected.

    I see two main market segments for the iPad. Well, three if we include the geeks.

    Who does not have a photo album at home? The experience of opening the book, sharing and commenting the pictures while handling it and sitting close to our friends… Digital photography has reduced the amount of printed pictures, and we have started to use TV and computer slideshows to view it.

    I can imagine my parents using the iPad just like they were using an ordinary photo album, having it ready to show the pictures of their grandsons to unexpected guests. No need to open the TV, no need to bring the computer.

    In order to fit in this category it will require over the air iPhoto synchronization, something that Apple TV already does. Also, it would be great to have bi-directional synchronization to be able to play with the photos (re-arrange, comment, tag) on the iPad.

    Another area is a segment of professional applications. The list here is long: from doctors handling it in the hospitals, decoration outlets and architects showing their projects and interacting with their customer’s work, to more basic, like a restaurant menu or beauty salons offering it instead of newspapers and magazines.

    What the device is missing?

    Clearly it needs a video camera for video conferencing. It would be great if it also had a rear camera.

    Size is important… and most probably we will see this device in smaller, portable 6” format as well as in a larger format to facilitate reading newspapers and magazines.

    A memory slot and USB connector to connect with the rest of the world are also more than welcome.

    And networking capabilities! Why do I have to have the media in the iPad? Why not let the device mount an AFP or SMB drive, so that it could have virtually unlimited storage capacity?

    My conclusion is that it is only a first step, but the iPad is definitely a revolutionary device.

    Related articles
    The Apple iPad is Here

  • The Apple iPad is Here

    “It is a magical and revolutionary device at an unbelievable price,” said Steve Jobs unveiling Apple’s “latest creation” yesterday in San Francisco. Although we may doubt if the iPad really brings “magic” and “revolution” to us, we have to admit the prices are unexpectedly low. Yesterday, Apple’s stocks started to climb fast only when Jobs revealed how much we’ll have to spend on the device.

    All the rumors were saying the tablet will be not less than $999, and from this point of view the actual prices look really affordable. $499 for the basic version (16GB, no 3G) is something nobody expected; also $829 for the bloated 64GB, 3G version won’t scare anyone.

    So, what do you get for this price? iPad is 0.5 inch thick, 1.5 pound device with 9.7-inch, 1024 x 768, LED-backlit, responsive high-resolution Multi-Touch display that features IPS technology and has a wide 178 degree viewing angle.

    It’s powered by 1GHz “A4” chip designed by Apple (using their own P.A. Semi technology) and is claimed to have 10-hour battery life and a month of standby.

    It’ll come with a 30-pin dock connector, a microphone, a speaker, Bluetooth (2.1 + EDR), 802.11n WiFi and optional 3G, as well as an accelerometer and a compass.

    iPad comes in two versions—one with Wi-Fi and the other with both Wi-Fi and 3G. iPad includes the latest 802.11n Wi-Fi, and the 3G versions support speeds up to 7.2 Mbps on HSDPA networks.

    Every iPad is unlocked and comes with a GSM micro-SIM. Together with AT&T, Apple announced 3G pre-paid data plans for iPad: 250MB for $14.99 and an unlimited plan for $29.99 a month contract-free (with on-device activation and management, and a free use of AT&T WiFi hotspots). International deals will come in June.

    iPad syncs with iTunes just like the iPhone and iPod touch, using the standard Apple 30-pin to USB cable. The device features 12 Multi-Touch applications. Every app works in both portrait and landscape, automatically animating between views as the user rotates iPad in any direction.

    The operating system is based on iPhone OS, so the iPad can run all iPhone apps – either pixel-for-pixel in a window, or pixel-doubled fullscreen. Apple says they rewrote all of our apps for this display.

    Apple released a new SDK for iPad, allowing developers to target iPad’s specifics while developing new apps. The SDK includes a simulator that lets developers test and debug their iPad apps on a Mac, and also lets developers create Universal Applications that run on iPad, iPhone and iPod touch.

    Apple also announced the new iBooks app for iPad, which includes Apple’s new iBookstore that will feature books from “major and independent publishers”– five new big Apple’s partners: Penguin, Simon & Schuster, Hachette Book Group, Macmillian and Harper Collins.

    iPad has almost full-size soft keyboard but it also connects to the new iPad Keyboard Dock with a full-size traditional keyboard ($70). Additionally, there is a "camera connection kit" to allow to plug a camera in over USB or use an SD card ($30) and a leather case ($40).

    Unfortunately, iPad doesn’t support Adobe Flash and multitasking. There is also no camera and HDMI output.

    New Apple device will be available in late March worldwide for a suggested retail price of $499 for the 16GB model, $599 for 32GB and $699 for 64GB.

    The Wi-Fi + 3G models of iPad will be available in April in the US and selected countries for a suggested retail price of $629 for the 16GB model, $729 for the 32GB and $829 for the 64GB.

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    Is an iPad a Revolutionary Device?

  • Verizon Business Offers New VoIP Contact Solution

    Verizon claims many consumers prefer to call a local business near them, even if their queries can sometimes be more effectively handled through a business’ central contact center.

    “With a new voice-over-Internet protocol offering from Verizon, however, businesses can maintain a consistent local face while directing overflow calls, as needed, to off-site customer service representatives or other retail locations,” says Verizon.

    The new offering, Verizon VoIP Inbound with Local Originations, provides a local phone number with call manager functionality traditionally used for toll-free phone numbers.

    According to the company, this capability enables local representatives in, for example, a neighborhood retail store or bank branch, to better focus on the customers in front of them by removing the need to juggle multiple incoming calls.

    "This innovative solution lets a business keep its local presence while more quickly serving call-in and walk-in customers alike," said Tony Recine, vice president of network and communications solutions for Verizon.

    "What’s more, this capability enables multiple agents to simultaneously address multiple customers, potentially driving additional revenue."

    A cost-efficient alternative to remote call forwarding, the new service integrates with Verizon IP Interactive Voice Response (IVR) offerings and can deliver customer calls to either traditional or IP-based contact centers.

    Verizon’s IP Contact Center is a portfolio of interaction services that includes VoIP Inbound and IP IVR. This network-based portfolio provides VoIP conversion in the network for reliable termination to SIP devices.

    These products help customers attain efficiency gains associated with IP such as compression and dynamic bandwidth allocation, as the company claims.

    Verizon says a smooth migration extends the capabilities of the legacy Toll Free network. The customers continue to dial an 8XX number (TDM) but the Network Gateway converts the Toll Free call into VoIP and allows for termination over standard access methods such as Internet Dedicated Access and Private IP.

  • Apple Reports All-Time Highest Revenue, Sold 8.7 Million iPhones in Q1 2010

    Two days before the long-awaited unveiling of the company’s “latest creation”, Apple revealed financial results for its Q1 2010 (ended December 26, 2009).

    The company posted revenue of $15.68 billion and a net quarterly profit of $3.38 billion, or $3.67 per diluted share.

    These results compare to revenue of $11.88 billion and net quarterly profit of $2.26 billion, or $2.50 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter.

    International sales accounted for 58 percent of the quarter’s revenue.

    Apple sold 8.7 million iPhones in the quarter, representing 100 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter.

    Sales went up especially in Japan (400 percent!), Australia, UK, France, and Germany. Apple’s flag device is now sold in 86 countries. 17 new carriers have added iPhone to their offerings.

    Apple COO Tim Cook said the company is moving slow in China because they are focused on building the brand there and on the quality of point of sale (there are 1500 points of sale for the iPhone in China). Earlier this month Apple activated over 200,000 units in China.

    The company also sold 3.36 million Macs during the quarter (a 33 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter) and 21 million iPods (an eight percent decline).

    Laptop sales were up 18 percent and sales of the iPod touch went up 55 percent.

    “If you annualize our quarterly revenue, it’s surprising that Apple is now a $50+ billion company,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO.

    “The new products we are planning to release this year are very strong, starting this week with a major new product that we’re really excited about.”

    According to Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO, Apple expects revenue in the range of about $11.0 billion to $11.4 billion and diluted earnings per share in the range of about $2.06 to $2.18 in Q2 2010.

  • snom Makes Broadcasts Possible From VoIP Phone

    snom, a developer and manufacturer of IP phones, has developed a new audio device that will allow SIP-based VoIP telephones to be used as an extension of any public address system.

    The PA1 is an audio control system that augments the SIP-based PBX. It has a built-in four-watt amplifier that can provide enough volume to fill large rooms and open spaces with sound using easily connected external speakers. Headset connection is also possible through two 3.5mm jacks.

    According to the company, the device is ideal for broadcasting announcements or playing music, can be used anywhere from reception areas to airports reducing the costs associated with this type of system

    The PA1 can link with all SIP-based VoIP telephones and business IP PBX platforms.

    It can be power-fed either via conventional power supply unit connection or through Power-over- Ethernet (PoE). The specific addressing of individual snom PA1 control systems can be centrally configured via the device’s web interface.

    Aside of the leading SIP protocol, the snom PA1 can also be addressed via Multicast, thus enabling one transmitter to simultaneously address many receivers.

    The device can also be linked to any existing installed public address loudspeakers.

    “Even across a network of 100 metres of cabling, there is no reduction in sound quality,” said Nelly Monkhouse, Sales Manager at snom.

    The PA1 will be unveiled at CeBIT in March in Hanover, Germany.

  • Truphone Brings Wi-Fi Calling to Nexus One

    After releasing VoIP enabled Truphone for Android earlier this month, Truphone today announced that it has updated the application to operate on Nexus One, which makes the company the first to provide Wi-Fi calling on Google’s device.

    In addition to compatibility with the Nexus One, the update (version 3.0.2), ensures compatibility with the T-Mobile Pulse, meaning that Truphone is now Wi-Fi compatible with a total of five Android devices (Nexus One, Puls, HTC G1, HTC Magic and HTC Hero). Compatibility with Motorola Droid is supposed to come soon.

    The Truphone for Android integrates a full VoIP engine allowing users to make free calls to Truphone, Google Talk and Skype users when both parties are in Wi-Fi, in addition to low cost calls to landlines and mobiles around the world whether they are in or out of Wi-Fi.

    It also includes fully integrated multi-headed Instant Messaging support for Skype, Google Talk, AIM, Yahoo! and MSN customers.

    The application builds on the company’s previous release which allowed customers to make low cost calls on their mobiles when out of Wi-Fi. When out of Wi-Fi, the application works by making a local GSM call to the Truphone gateway (if a customer has a bundled package of minutes this call is often free, otherwise is charged as a ‘local call’), from where the call is then routed over the Truphone network.

    Calls can be made outside of Wi-Fi using Truphone Anywhere in 33 countries around the world.

    The application is available now as a free download in the Android Market.

  • 3 Scandinavia Launches World’s First 84Mbps HSPA Network

    Danish and Swedish consumers can look forward to four times faster mobile broadband as operator 3‘s network speeds leap from 21Mbps to 84Mbps.

    To improve coverage, the upgrade will be complemented by a new 900MHz 3G network, the first in Sweden, supplied and supported by Ericsson.

    The three-year contract between Ericsson and 3 includes the HSPA Evolution capacity upgrade of its existing 3G network, via 42Mbps, to 84Mbps plus a new WCDMA/HSPA radio access network on the 900MHz frequency band.

    In addition, Ericsson is providing IP-based optical and microwave backhaul, and support services.

    Nationwide rollout in Denmark and four major cities in Sweden will start in the first quarter of 2010.

    Peder Ramel, CEO at 3 Scandinavia, said: "We were the first to launch turbo 3G in the Nordic region and now we are first signing up for the world’s fastest 3G.”

    “Ericsson is evolving our network so we can meet these demands and give our customers true connectivity, wherever they are – from city office to country cottage," he added.

    3 Scandinavia is a part of the global 3 group (25 million customers in 10 countries), a joint venture between Hutchison Whampoa Ltd in Hong Kong (60 %) and Investor AB in Stockholm (40 %). The company also holds a license to operate a 3G network in Norway.

  • XConnect Offers Trial of High-Definition Calling

    XConnect announced a trial of the first IP peering federation specifically for service providers capable of offering high-definition voice services.

    The trial, open to qualified operators, waives sign-up and monthly fees for its April-June duration. “Multiple providers using the G.722 wideband codec will be able to test the interoperability, scalable interconnection, reliability and support of XConnect federation services,” says the company.

    High-definition voice is being adopted increasingly by fixed, mobile and Web 2.0 telecom service providers, as it delivers a much richer audio experience than the PSTN makes possible.

    Using wideband codecs, HD achieves a wider frequency range, providing almost the clarity of face-to-face conversation.

    However, for HD to work across networks, the entire call path and endpoints themselves must support high definition. According to Eli Katz, XConnect CEO, the mass-market adoption of high-definition voice and other new IP services demands “trusted, scalable cross-network interconnection.”

    “Service providers are eager for a solution. We look forward to working with the industry to help bring the benefits of HD voice to these operators and the consumer and enterprise markets they serve,” he said.

    Jeff Rodman, Polycom co-founder and CTO, said, “Because voice is the most critical way that we communicate, the significantly improved sound quality of HD voice is an important step in making communication clearer and more effective.”

    Trial participants will form a private peering community under the Private Alliance feature of XConnect’s Global Alliance, which combines ENUM-registry and multimedia interconnection hub services. Supporting multiple protocols and codecs, the Global Alliance enables new IP services, including HD voice, to be delivered across networks.

  • Dialogic to Provide “Any-to-Any” PBX Connectivity for SIP Trunking

    Dialogic announced that it has entered into an agreement with Ingate Systems and says this allows them to incorporate the SIP Trunking software module from Ingate into a new enterprise border element designed to connect virtually any SIP trunk with virtually any PBX, to facilitate seamless SIP trunk deployments in legacy TDM and hybrid PBX environments, as well as new SIP-based PBX systems.

    “PBX’s are transitioning from the traditional TDM PBX’s to hybrid PBX’s, IP-PBXs, and Unified Communications solutions creating a heterogeneous TDM/SIP trunk environment and there is a significant opportunity to provide connectivity and security between public and private networks,” said Franz-Josef Eberle, Vice President and General Manager for the Enterprise Market Group at Dialogic.

    The Ingate SIP Trunking software module provides enterprise session border control along with the routing capabilities necessary to connect SIP trunks to enterprise networks and branch offices by employing Ingate’s proxy-based traversal and security technology.

    The SIP Trunking software also is designed to resolve interoperability issues between service providers’ SIP services and the SIP-based systems being deployed inside corporate data networks today.

    Dialogic’s media gateway technologies provide the protocols and interfaces necessary to connect with a wide variety of legacy telephony equipment and networks, both TDM and IP.

    Dialogic says its new enterprise border element will combine the functions normally found in a media gateway and an enterprise session border controller into a single product. “The result will be a solution that is designed to connect virtually any trunk with virtually any PBX, thus helping to resolve the connectivity issues with the heterogeneous environment,” says the company.

    According to Steven Johnson, President of Ingate Systems, the Dialogic solution will open the opportunity of a rapid return on investment to enterprises with mixed PBX environments, including those using traditional PBXs.

    Dialogic plans to make a first set of enterprise border elements available later this year with product configurations offering SIP trunking legacy PBX connectivity via PRI/E1/T1 and ISDN BRI.