Nokia begins shipments of its first CDMA2000 1X handsets
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IRVING, TEXAS – Nokia (NYSE: NOK) today announced that it has begun shipments of the Nokia 6370 wireless phone, Nokia’s first handset designed to take advantage of new CDMA2000 1X networks. Leap Wireless International, Inc (NASDAQ: LWIN), which offers Cricket, its unlimited local wireless service, in 40 markets, is the first wireless carrier to market the Nokia 6370 phone.

"Nokia and Leap have worked together to bring ‘comfortable wireless’ communications to our Cricket customers for more than two years," said Don McGuire, Leap’s vice president of sales and marketing. "We are excited to continue working with Nokia to offer CDMA2000 1X handsets in our 1X markets. By leveraging 1X technology, we can cost effectively increase voice capacity for our flat-rate, all-you-can-talk Cricket service while offering feature-rich state-of-the-art handsets like the Nokia 6370 phone that appeal to our customers."

Based on Nokia’s own CDMA2000 1X chipset, the Nokia 6370 phone offers CDMA carriers the opportunity to realize the benefits of their new CDMA2000 1X voice networks. With a full complement of features, including 2-way text messaging and downloadable ring tones, the Nokia 6370 phone is designed for the user who wants the latest technology in a classic form factor. A large phonebook holding up to 500 contacts with multiple entry fields and an extensive calendar and to-do list allows Nokia 6370 phone owners to keep important information in the palm of their hand.

Despite the powerful new features of the Nokia 6370 phone, previous Nokia users will find that the familiar menu structure and keypad layout makes learning how to access the new functionality quick and easy. Additionally, users upgrading from Nokia 5100 and 6100 series phones will find that most of their existing accessories, including car kits, charging stands and travel chargers, will also work with the new Nokia 6370 phone.

"The Nokia 6370 phone combines Nokia’s latest advances in wireless technology with our intuitive user interface to create a product that fulfills the carrier’s desire to utilize new networks as well as the end user’s need for a powerful, easy-to-use handset," said Soren Petersen, CDMA senior vice president and general manager for Nokia. "We are pleased that Leap will be the first carrier to offer the Nokia 6370 phone to customers of its innovative Cricket service."

SOURCE Nokia Press Release Back to News Reports

Sendo announces first wave of applications for Z100 smartphones
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Sendo announced that its first wave of applications are being developed by third party developers for the Sendo multimedia Z100 Smartphone. The applications being developed range from well-known games like Versaly’s ‘The Untouchables Pin Ball’, various titles from Germany based Mobile Scope and Midway’s smash hit arcade classic ‘Defender™’, to business applications like Word, PowerPoint and Excel viewers.

The Z100 Smartphone’s large colour screen and the processing power of the device make it an ideal phone for games and multimedia entertainment.

Sendo expects to be able to offer at launch games like ‘The Untouchables Pin Ball’ and a range of games from Mobile Scope. The Swiss company Incagold is porting their award winning ‘Slamtilt’, pinball machine.

Ideaworks3D will introduce its critically acclaimed ‘Rebound!’. This is the first in a series of games using Ideaworks3D’s Segundo™ mobile gaming middleware, which is being used by leading game publishers to bring a large catalogue of major gaming brands to the Z100 Smartphone.

As part of their wireless gaming strategy, mobile entertainment company Terra Mobile-iobox will publish Midway’s retro classic ‘Defender’ for the Z100. It is anticipated that more titles are to follow this year, with increased wireless functionality.

US based Hexacto, also developer of Versaly’s ‘The Untouchables Pin Ball’ and Terra Mobile-iobox’ ‘Defender’, has fully committed to the platform and plans to release 20 Smartphone titles in 2002, among them a multiplayer Casino game, ‘Tennis Addict’ and ‘Ring a Bell’, a multiplayer trivia game show based on ring tones.

Other games Sendo expects include Pixel Technologies’ ‘MobilePlay™ 1’, an online multiplayer games pack powered by Pixel’s JIVE™ technology. The games pack includes multiplayer Chess, Checkers, Poker, Spades, Backgammon and Reversi, all of which are compatible and playable on multiple platforms via Pixel’s JIVE™ servers.

Also Fathammer’s X-Forge™ 3D Game Engine, which allows games developers to produce very high-quality graphics games, is expected to be available. Last month, Sendo also licensed Tao’s Group intent ® multimedia Java platform, which opens the device up for Java J2ME MIDP compliant applications and titles from the well-known, vast Amiga entertainment catalogue. Amiga Anywhere enables applications to run on a broad range of processors or operating systems including Smartphone 2002 and Sendo’s Z100.

For business users applications are being developed for the Z100 Smartphone to incorporate Word, Excel, ZIP, PowerPoint and PDF viewers. Sendo is working with a number of enterprise software solutions companies on specific enterprise software programmes. Also, specifically for business users, within the accessory range, a foldable keyboard will be offered.

SOURCE SENDO Press Release Back to News Reports

First Car with Integrated UMTS Services (Back to News Reports)

7 June 2002 - With the first presentation of UMTS services in a moving car, the cooperation partners DaimlerChrysler, Siemens, Sun Microsystems, T-Mobile, Jentro and MBDS/Nice University Sophia Antipolis are celebrating a world premiere in Berlin. In a specially fitted Mercedes-Benz S-Class, the partners demonstrate a comprehensive portfolio of multimedia services which have become possible through the use of the broadband UMTS mobile phone standard. Contents are transferred into the test vehicle at an average transmission rate of 128 kBit/s. UMTS allows a maximum bandwidth in the vehicle of 384 kBit/s, up to six times ISDN speed. The future vision of live video and music downloads, video telephony and an ingenious off-board navigation system, which uses up-to-data cartographic data via UMTS for destination finding, has become reality today.

With the first live operation of UMTS services in the vehicle, the six partners demonstrate the potential of this radio standard. With the corresponding network availability in several years it will help mobile data services make the breakthrough for business applications, mobility services as well as entertainment and information offers with video support. With the future availability of a direct mobile link to company networks, UMTS will be able to establish itself quickly, particularly in the business application area. The experience and test results of the UMTS car premiere underline the innovation leadership of the partners in their respective industry and support them in establishing their UMTS business model and in developing UMTS service offers of the future in line with the market.

DaimlerChrysler equipped the UMTS test vehicle with the appropriate operating units and monitors and the link to the car infrastructure and the specification of the UMTS services. “With the UMTS test vehicle we are creating today the necessary expertise to satisfy the demand of our customers for mobile UMTS services of the future”, said Dr. Hans-Joachim Schöpf, Senior Vice President Development Mercedes-Benz Passenger Cars & smart.

T-Mobile provides the UMTS network and together with Siemens IC Mobile established the UMTS infrastructure in the test radio network in Berlin. Timotheus Höttges, Chairman of the management board of T-Mobile Deutschland: “The solution presented today impressively demonstrates the variety of future UMTS applications. From telematics services to entertainment, mobile multimedia solutions will soon be a fixed part of a wide variety of everyday situations.”

The Siemens division Information and Communication Mobile (IC Mobile) supplies the entire technology for the UMTS radio network and participates in the development and implementation of the UMTS applications for the test vehicle.

The UMTS services in the test vehicle cover a broad range of mobility and infotainment services. In addition to a live video conference with any remote partner, there is also a video monitoring system, access to traffic observation cameras and a wide range of entertainment, such as video films and a multi-player game. Also offered are news services, an electronic office as well as broadband access to the Mercedes-Benz portal and the internet. The offboard navigation system includes ample information, in part with video support, on interesting spots in the vicinity. The UMTS S-Class was equipped especially for this purpose with in-car PCs, with two flip-up 15-inch TFT monitors recessed into the seat backs and wireless keyboards for the use of the UMTS services in the rear. In a user-friendly way via an inbuilt touchscreen monitor the driver and front seat passenger can access services such as a navigation and traffic observation camera, which switches off automatically above a speed of 6 km/h for safety reasons. The operating elements, user interfaces and interaction processes in the test vehicle were developed exclusively for the demonstration of the possible UMTS services. They do not correspond with the requirements of a future UMTS solution for series production.

SOURCE Siemens Press Release Back to News Reports

NTT DoCoMo to Introduce FOMA P2002 Phone (Back to News Reports)

TOKYO, JAPAN, June 5, 2002 --- NTT DoCoMo, Inc. announced today that it will begin selling the P2002 3G mobile phone equipped for DoCoMo i-motionTM, sound and video-clip distribution services on June 13, 2002. The i-motion service enables compatible FOMA handsets to download audio/video content at up to 384 Kbps (uplink at 64 Kbps) from sites accessed via DoCoMo's official portal. DoCoMo's new 3G phone is capable of both high-speed packet data transmissions of up to 384 Kbps (receiving) and high-speed circuit-switched data transmissions of up to 64 Kbps. It is equipped for "Multiaccess" simultaneous voice and packet communications. The model has a 2.2-inch, 65,536-color TFD LCD and delivers enhanced voice quality equivalent to that of a fixed-line telephone. All DoCoMo FOMA sales channels will sell the new model. Retail pricing will be open (unfixed). The model's standard accessory kit, including battery pack, AC adaptor and desktop holder, will cost 7,300 yen. Main Specifications of FOMA P2002 Height x Width x Thickness (folded) 103 x 52 x 25 (mm) Weight Approx. 110g Continuous stand-by time Approx. 55 hours Continuous talk time Approx. 90 minutes Packet transmission speed Receiving: up to 384 Kbps Sending: up to 64 Kbps Circuit switched data transmission speed 64 Kbps Body color Aero Metal

SOURCE NTT DoCoMo Back to News Reports

T-Mobile UK launches MMS (Back to News Reports)

4 June 2002 - T-Mobile has launched the first mobile-to-mobile multimedia messaging service (MMS) in the UK. The service called T-Mobile Picture Messaging enables customers to capture moments as they happen and share them straight away: Customers can create and combine personal images, sound clips or personal voice recordings and text into a single multimedia message and send it instantly from their mobile to another mobile or e-mail address.

T-Mobile is the only UK mobile operator to offer a complete picture messaging service with both mobile and web-based features. As part of the picture messaging package, T-Mobile customers can store their favourite picture messages on the web at www.t-mobile.co.uk, where they can also access a gallery of downloadable images and create and send new picture messages from the web to a mobile or email address.

Clent Richardson, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer at T-Mobile, said: “A picture paints a thousand words – that is the spirit behind the proposition. This is a radical and hugely positive example of bringing our ‘Get more services’ brand promise to life. We’re adding sight to sound – forever changing mobile communications. There will be endless uses for this service, creating a new dimension to instant mobile communications. T-Mobile customers will be able to capture those funny, special or compromising moments where a camera would usually be forgotten.”

SOURCE T-Mobile Press Release Back to News Reports

Handspring Brings Color To Treo Communicators (Back to News Reports)

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIF. (May 31, 2002) - Handspring, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAND), a leading innovator in personal communications and handheld computing, today introduced Treo 270, a compact, full-color wireless communicator that integrates a mobile phone, wireless applications like email and Internet browsing, and a Palm OS organizer all in one.

Treo 270 also has a built-in, backlit QWERTY keyboard and enhanced battery life. Treo 270 is available for $499 with GSM service activation or $699 without a service plan. In a separate announcement today, Handspring also introduced its first Treo that is not a wireless communicator: the Treo 90, a sleek, lightweight organizer with a built-in keyboard and a full-color display.

Treo 270 is available now from Handspring's Web site and will become available through authorized Handspring retailers in the coming weeks. In addition, Treo 270 will be available throughout Europe and Asia where Treo 180 and 180g are already sold. Handspring expects to announce availability in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Latin America in the months to come.

"While Treo 270's bright color display adds richness to color applications like Internet browsing and games, it also significantly improves text-based applications like e-mail because of its enhanced readability," said Joe Sipher, vice president of product marketing at Handspring. "Our development team also found a way to improve Treo 270's battery performance relative to our monochrome Treo 180 without compromising on its size."

SOURCE Handspring Press Release Back to News Reports