telecoms

Car-themed phones right off the showroom floor

Are you an ardent fan of the Hummer H-series or the sleek Cadillac CTS sedan? New handsets from Quantum Telecom are styled just like your favorite model complete with car shine finish.

Aside from the logos and paint jobs, the Hummer HQ1 3G also has an engine intake grille adorning its front and crisp lines on the rear. The CDQ, on the other hand, mirrors the real McCoy with its blend of wing-like edges, sharp angles, and wire mesh bottom.

On the other end of the spectrum is the Cosmopolitan CMQ streamlined clamshells with clutter-free exteriors that are less intimidating … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 740: iTunes bombing

How to get to the top of the iTunes podcast list--we think. We'll let you know Monday. Also, breaking news! Amazon goes down midshow! Was it something we said? In other news, we attempt to solve issues of global hypercapitalism, the growth imperative, and their inevitable consumer-unfriendly consequences. Plus, we find out why you have to go through voicemail hell when you call customer support, and the answer makes us lose our ever-loving minds. Listen now: Download today's podcast Episode 740

ISP secretly added spy code To Web sessions, crashing browsers http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/06/isp-spying-made.html … Read more

Vodafone acquires contact management service ZYB

European telecom giant Vodafone announced Friday that its Vodafone Europe BV subsidiary has acquired ZYB, a Danish company that specializes in online contact and calendar management. The price, as stated by Vodafone, is 31.5 million euros, or $48.7 million.

"Using a Web portal as a link between the PC and the mobile device, ZYB provides an interactive way for people to nurture, contact, and develop their relationships with their most important friends and colleagues and builds links with those contacts' wider networks," Vodafone's Internet Services Director, Pieter Knook, said in a statement. "This is … Read more

Verizon, Mozilla to join LiMo Foundation

Updated 10:00am PT with detail from Verizon's conference call.

The LiMo Foundation is adding several well-known entities to its roster of mobile phone players, including Verizon and Mozilla.

A total of eight companies have agreed to join forces with LiMo to work on a Linux-based operating system for mobile phones, bringing the total number of participants to 40. Verizon and Mozilla are the headliners, but the full roster of new invitees includes Infineon, Kvaleberg, Red Bend Software, Sagem Mobiles, SFR, and SK Telecom.

Reports surfaced over the weekend that Verizon was planning to add a LiMo phone to … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 718: Always worry

We could tell you not to worry, but then you'd e-mail us and tell us why you should. So, new rule. Always worry. And the HTC Touch Diamond ain't all that, but we're not saying the 3G iPhone is going to be all that, either. Don't get your hopes up. This is turning into an Eeyore sort of day, isn't it? Here's some good news: Zune 2.5 offers TV downloads! So...yay! Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 718

Vodafone, Telecom Italia announce massive iPhone rollout http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2008/05/06/ vodafone-telecom-italia-announce-massive-iphone-rollout … Read more

Vodafone and Telecom Italia get the iPhone

Vodafone is the latest cell phone company to get Apple's iPhone, the company said Tuesday.

Telecom Italia also said Tuesday it's going to sell the iPhone in Italy.

Vodafone will be distributing the iPhone in 10 countries, making this the first time that Apple has sold the phone through two different operators in the same market.

Vodafone subscribers will be able to get the iPhone in Australia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Italy, India, Portugal, New Zealand, South Africa, and later this year in Turkey.

Almost a year after the iPhone hit store shelves in the U.S. … Read more

Report: Italian iPhone deal shuns revenue sharing?

A report out of Italy Monday suggests that Apple is planning to revamp its business model with the launch of the iPhone in that country.

It's always tough to correctly interpret translations, but check out the report from La Repubblica and read it for yourself. In short, the report claims that Apple is getting ready to launch a 3G iPhone in Italy with Telecom Italy, and that the carrier will not have to pay Apple a share of the data revenue earned from iPhone users, nor will it have an ongoing exclusive. As a result, the iPhone will be … Read more

The future of open-source infrastructure is...applications?

It occurred to me today that open-source infrastructure providers (e.g., commercial providers of open-source operating systems, databases, application servers, etc.) may have much in common with telecommunications infrastructure providers (like cable, wireless, etc. providers).

Everyone uses their stuff, and generally at a rate that doesn't quite match the value of the benefits derived from it.

Early on we pay a premium for broadband Internet or support for still-buggy but cheaper open-source software. Over time it becomes commodified and our willingness to pay decreases.

What's a company to do?… Read more

Green-tech base stations cut diesel usage by 80 percent

Flexenclosure is trying to wean the cell phone business in Africa off of fossil fuels.

The Swedish start-up has designed a base station for mobile networks that would run on sun and wind power. It all started with a request from telecom company Ericsson three years ago. The company needed an energy source for a potential project in Africa and wanted a more environmentally friendly solution than the conventional diesel generators that usually power base stations out of reach from electricity grids.

Right now, there are 40,000 base stations for mobile networks in Africa, most of them running on … Read more

Report: Hong Kong gazillionaire increases stake in Facebook

Li Ka-shing, the Hong Kong telecom mogul who invested $60 million in Facebook last year, has upped his stake to $100 million and may invest even more, MarketWatch reported Thursday.

Facebook was valued at an eyebrow-raising $15 billion when Microsoft purchased a 5 percent stake at $240 million.

According to MarketWatch, Li made the initial announcement during the earnings call for his company, Hutchison Whampoa. "Facebook is doing very well and we could have some synergy between the 3G services of Hutchison and Facebook, so the customers could use Facebook on mobile phones," Li reportedly said.

Among Li'… Read more