Telecoms Rave

Google's Biggest Fails

coolambrose@gmail.com (Telecoms Rave) — Fri, 28 Jul 2017 16:38:00 +0000

For a long time, Google has been known for starting a bunch of different projects, testing out new products and then seeing what ultimately worked. This strategy has changed recently, as Android PIT Germany editor Hans-George stated recently. Because of this risk-taking, Google’s history also includes many projects which failed miserably. Sometimes the public simply wasn’t interested, and occasionally an idea was doomed to fail at its inception. It’s time to take a look into the past and ruminate on Google’s failed projects.

Google+ and other social experiments
Some may cry out at this headline and refuse to accept that Google+ was a failure. But, as a fan of this network for many years, I believe I’m allowed to make such a statement.

I was euphoric when the network was introduced in 2011. Other Google fans desperately wanted an invitation to this new and initially closed social network. It was supposed to be an alternative to Facebook and many wanted to test the concept of circles as an alternative to friends. But is the network now where it wanted to be? Until recently, Google had frantically tried to run all of its services via Google+, and even YouTube was affected. Active users of Google+ thought this was great, but everybody else cursed the idea. Even after all these years, I still have the feeling that the system was a space for tech enthusiasts only and that hardly a single company devoted itself to the network. This can of course be spun into a positive light, but for the masses, Google+ was anything but a success. Incidentally, Google+ wasn’t the company’s first stride into social networking. Remember Google Buzz and Google Orkut? Both were officially abandoned by Google, and I have the unfortunate feeling that Google+ will suffer the same fate.

Google Orkut may have escaped your attention. It functioned as a network to find old and new friends. Google Orkut would recommend new contacts for you based on the interests that you indicated. However, the network only found success in Brazil and was ended in 2014. Google Buzz met a similar end. With this network, you could leave notes on Google Maps for all users to see. But often, people only used this function to post the inane comment ‘First!!’.

To end this section with my favorite quote: the question isn’t if Google+ will be terminated, but when.

Google Glass
To portray Google Glass as a completely failed project would be somewhat unfair. It was clearly an experimental project from the outset and Google surely didn’t expect to achieve wide commercial success with it. And in any case, we need certain projects to advance technology. The Google Glass project was officially announced in June 2012 and received a lot of attention in the tech world. We hadn’t seen such a product before and were naturally excited, or at least curious.

Google Glass never achieved success and only a few developer-edition models were ultimately sold. For one, the glasses were simply too big. As someone who doesn’t wear glasses, I would never wear such a product on my face only to use a few limited functions.

Consumers are extremely cautious with data protection, which is another problem with Glass. In this regard, Google Glass raised many concerns. How do I know that I’m not being filmed? Or that the microphone isn’t running without my knowledge?

On top of this was the price. The beta version, called the Explorer Edition, was intended for developers and came with a hefty $1,500 price tag. It was available from February 2013. What the glasses would have cost in the shop remains a secret, as it never got this far. Google made several announcements about an official launch, but the program was abandoned in January 2015.

As mentioned at the start, Google likes to try all the possibilities. But success is ultimately determined by us, the consumers. Google Glass was likely ahead of its time, and that it was unsuccessful is not a huge surprise. Companies like Google or Microsoft certainly haven’t given up on augmented reality glasses. Recently with the HoloLens, another manufacturer went a completely different direction. We’re excited for the next consumer products to find their way to us.

Google Latitude
Always want to know where your family members or friends are? Google Latitude offered this feature, which is still available through Google Maps today. So why include this in our article? Google wasn’t clear on where to go with this. Initially offered as a standalone option within Google Maps, it was later exported to Google+ only to be reintegrated into Google Maps recently. This was frustrating for all users who needed to adjust to changing features, and also re-accept the terms and conditions.

Still, there was a lot of benefit from this feature at the beginning. The widget was very convenient, but this changed with its integration into Google+. We may be guilty here of whining about first world problems, but such a service should be easy to both install and operate. I’m not even an Apple fan, but I have to admit that ‘Find my Friends’ on iOS is somewhat more practical. Google has the advantage that Google Maps can be run on both iOS and Android and thus reach more people. But the general population is likely unaware that such an option exists, and that anyone with a current version of Google Maps can use it.

Hangouts and co

The story of Google’s messengers is almost more confusing than Latitude. Not only did the location of the service often change, but also the type of implementation.

So it all began with Google Talk, which was integrated into Gmail. This messenger used the open XMPP protocol. As a result, you could message users of any other service using this protocol, not just Google Talk users. A relative of mine was always impressed because he had his own server at home and could nevertheless communicate comfortably with me. A downside was that group chats didn’t function well and you’d receive notifications on all devices.

Naturally, Google wanted to move everyone to its own social network, and so arrived the Google+ messenger. This only worked on devices with Google+ and didn’t run on PC browsers. With it, it became more comfortable to start group chats and notifications also felt slightly better.

But Google didn’t stop there and created Hangouts in 2013. This messenger app combined messenger with video chat, and even had the functionality to make phone calls in the US. This was a perfect solution for me. Thanks to online storage, I no longer needed to worry about data security when I switched smartphones. Also, the service was compatible across platforms, and worked on my smartphone, tablet and computer. But instead of developing the messenger further and implementing user feedback, Google instead threw another messenger app onto the market in 2016.

Allo works using a telephone number. This should make it more suitable for the masses than the previous messengers which worked via an email address. Allo also appears much more colorful and doesn’t save chats online. These are saved onto the device and are lost when you change phones as there’s no backup function. Otherwise Allo is very colorful and should impress with its text formatting options, stickers and Google Assistant. It’s an exciting concept in itself, but the lack of development and insecurity behind Google messengers repels many people from the service. The wide distribution of WhatsApp also likely plays a role. A messenger with less functionality will not entice many people to switch.

Don’t hold your breath for Google to update its old messengers. Instead, look forward to new ones.

Google Reader

For a long time, the Google Reader was one of the services I used most. It was long my favorite source for all types of news, from politics to technology to daily gossip.

Google had brought the feed reader to life way back in 2005. Nevertheless, I wasn’t especially happy with the interface which Google provided, and I wasn’t alone in this. Few services have attracted so many third parties as Google Reader. Primarily, in the last few years there have been countless alternative interfaces. And then came Feedly, which offered one of the most beautiful user interfaces.

But on July 1, 2013, this was over for good. Google abandoned the reader. The primary reason was that Google Reader wasn’t being used by a lot of people. The app was getting old, and many various news applications had found their way into the list of top apps. An antiquated feed reader which you needed to set up yourself was simply too old-fashioned.

The disappearance of Google Reader broke my world apart. Find another reliable source for my news? No thank you, Reader worked wonderfully. Feedly luckily saw its chance and took over the role of the reader. To this day I still use this service daily. The best part of switching was how easy it was. Ultimately, the developers of Feedly handled the entire changeover, meaning that I only needed to log in to my Google Account as normal.

This works to this very day and I’ve never needed to reassign feeds or anything like that. Of course there are other companies whose services may offer similar features to the feed reader. But with this reader it was incredibly easy to try out new UIs. The hurdle in switching is much higher when you need to reselect all your active feeds or set up the app again. I still miss the Google Reader for the simple reason that I like to try out new services. Feedly is nevertheless a satisfactory replacement.

Google Wave

Google Wave was Google’s first foray into the field of collaborative working. The idea behind this was pretty genius. In May 2009, Google introduced a product at Google I/O which allowed colleagues to work simultaneously on one document. You could create ‘Waves’ and invite multiple colleagues to collaborate. This had the effect of looking like a thread in a forum, or a group chat in today’s messenger apps.

With Wave we have a product which we can’t strictly describe as ‘failed’. The idea behind it was really good and many of its functions are found today in Google’s office suite with Docs, Sheets and Slides. These programs are underpinned by the idea that several users can work together on the same document. And this functions better today than ever before.

The service was ultimately ended in April 2012 and its servers deactivated. The service likely never reached the user count which Google had aimed for. But as said before, although the program is dead, the idea behind it certainly isn’t. While collaboration is at the core of Google Docs, Sheets and Slides, direct communication in the form of a chat has been sidelined.

Of course, Google has made other products which ultimately failed, but we wanted to concentrate on the bigger projects here.(special props to Arewatech1 of nairaland.com for the writeup)…...read more

Turn Your Webcam Into A Spy Camera with These Free Apps

coolambrose@gmail.com (Telecoms Rave) — Thu, 06 Apr 2017 15:28:00 +0000

Worried about your home’s security after a string of break-ins in your neighborhood? Maybe you want to keep an eye on your domestic help or nanny. What you need is a security camera. But setting up a home surveillance system might be quite costly. If you are looking for a cheap way to make sure someone does not intrude at your home or office, there are free apps that can turn your PC’s webcam into a spy camera.

To set up a cost-effective security camera, you will need at least one webcam, or several IP cameras if your home is large. Free software can capture motion by an intruder, and alert you by emailing you a live feed or high-resolution photos. Some programs will also let you view activity remotely from another computer or your mobile phone.

Below is a list of applications that will turn your laptop into a surveillance device. All are free and easy to configure.

1. iSpy

A free, open-source application, iSpy lets you monitor your workplace or home remotely. The software program provides several ways to notify you if it detects an intruder, including an alarm system, a recording system, and sending screengrabs to your PC or mobile phone.

iSpy can connect to multiple IP cameras and microphones. It automatically starts recording whenever it captures motion. However, to enable live remote viewing from any PC, you will need to spend between $7 and $49 per month to unlock this feature.

Setting up iSpy is easy. All you need is a PC webcam and a long USB cable. The software program connects with your camera and records any motion the camera captures. You can set specific areas to monitor, and configure motion capture settings for automatic recording. Have an extra webcam? Connect it to iSpy and set up a mini home security system right away!

2. Yaw Cam

A free software program, Yaw Cam lets you set up a mini home surveillance system through your laptop’s web camera. The software is very easy to set up, and has a lot of features for a free application.

You can configure Yaw Cam so that it tracks and captures motion, either within a specified area of your home or workplace, or in the entire area within the webcam’s field of view.

The app notifies you of any intrusion by sending hi-resolution photos of the motion capture via email or a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) site. You can set your photo notifications with your Yahoo or Gmail email address and get instant live alerts on your mobile phone or computer.

Before installing this software, make sure you install Java Virtual Machine.

3. Yoics

This remote desktop application can easily turn your webcam into a spy camera. All you need to do is connect your webcam to the app and set up a connection with your Gmail, YouTube or Twitter account, for instant text, photo, or video notifications of any intrusion. This free software program supports motion capture. However, the lengthy setup may not appeal to the average user.

In addition to monitoring your webcam, the application lets you view your desktop remotely and access your computer's folders. You can view and download any folder on your PC right from your mobile phone or web browser.

4. Vitamin D

Vitamin D is another ideal remote monitoring software program for home and office. Once connected to your webcam, the app detects motion. Its state-of-the-art capabilities easily distinguish moving people from moving objects. It tracks and captures motion, streams it live for remote viewing, and records it for future review. You can filter out a long video capture to show only important moments. A detailed guide can be found in the official site’s “support” section.

The app is easy to configure and won’t take too much time to set up so that you can receive real-time alerts from your webcam. The free version supports only one webcam; you will need to spend money to get multi-cam support. Still, even the free version has some amazing features....read more

Mobile Website vs. Mobile App: Which is Best for?

coolambrose@gmail.com (Telecoms Rave) — Fri, 17 Mar 2017 16:56:00 +0000

For Broad Marketing Outreach, A Mobile Website is the Place to Start.
If you're planning to establish a mobile presence for your business or organization one of the first considerations that will likely come to mind is whether you want to create a mobile application for users to download (app) or a mobile website, or perhaps both. Mobile websites and apps can look very similar at first-glance, and determining which is most suited to your needs will depend upon a number of factors, including target audiences, available budget, intended purpose and required features.

What’s the Difference Between a Mobile Website and an App (Application)?
Before you can evaluate the benefits of a mobile website vs. an app it’s important to understand the key differences between the two. Both apps and mobile websites are accessed on a handheld devices such as smartphones (e.g. iPhone, Android and Blackberry) and tablets.

A mobile website is similar to any other website in that it consists of browser-based HTML pages that are linked together and accessed over the Internet (for mobile typically WiFi or 3G or 4G networks). The obvious characteristic that distinguishes a mobile website from a standard website is the fact that it is designed for the smaller handheld display and touch-screen interface. Increasingly, responsive web design is becoming the new standard for websites that are not only mobile-friendly, but that can scale to any sized device - from desktop down to tablet and handheld smartphones.

Like any website, mobile websites/responsive sites can display text content, data, images and video. They can also access mobile-specific features such as click-to-call (to dial a phone number) or location-based mapping.

Apps are actual applications that are downloaded and installed on your mobile device, rather than being rendered within a browser. Users visit device-specific portals such as Apple’s App Store, Android Market, or Blackberry App World in order to find and download apps for a given operating system. The app may pull content and data from the Internet, in similar fashion to a website, or it may download the content so that it can be accessed without an Internet connection.

Which is Better – an App or a Mobile (Responsive) Website?
When it comes to deciding whether to build a native app or a mobile website, the most appropriate choice really depends on your end goals. If you are developing an interactive game an app is probably going to be your best option. But if your goal is to offer mobile-friendly content to the widest possible audience then a mobile website is probably the way to go. In some cases you may decide you need both a mobile website and a mobile app, but it’s pretty safe to say that it rarely makes sense to build an app without already having a mobile website in place.

Generally speaking, a mobile website should be considered your first step in developing a mobile web presence, whereas an app is useful for developing an application for a very specific purpose that cannot be effectively accomplished via a web browser.

Advantages of a Mobile Website vs. Native Apps
If your goals are primarily related to marketing or public communications, a mobile/responsive website is almost always going to make sense as a practical first step in your mobile outreach strategy. This is because a mobile website has a number of inherent advantages over apps, including broader accessibility, compatibility and cost-effectiveness.

Immediacy – Mobile Websites Are Instantly Available

A mobile website is instantly accessible to users via a browser across a range of devices (iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, etc). Apps on the other hand require the user to first download and install the app from an app marketplace before the content or application can be viewed - a significant barrier between initial engagement and action/conversion.

Compatibility – Mobile Websites are Compatible Across Devices
A single mobile website can reach users across many different types of mobile devices, whereas native apps require a separate version to be developed for each type of device. Furthermore, mobile website URLs are easily integrated within other mobile technologies such as SMS, QR Codes and near field communication (NFC).

Upgradability – Mobile Websites Can Be Updated Instantly
A mobile website is much more dynamic than an app in terms of pure flexibility to update content. If you want to change the design or content of a mobile website you simply publish the edit once and the changes are immediately visible; updating an app on the other hand requires the updates to be pushed to users, which then must be downloaded in order to update the app on each type of device.

Findability – Mobile Websites Can be Found Easily
Mobile websites are much easier for users to find because their pages can be displayed in search results and listed in industry-specific directories, making it easy for qualified visitors to find you. Most importantly, visitors to your regular website can be automatically sent to your mobile site when they are on a handheld (using device-detection). In contrast, the visibility of apps are largely restricted to manufacturer app stores.

Shareability – Mobile Websites Can be Shared Easily by Publishers, and Between Users
Mobile website URLs are easily shared between users via a simple link (e.g. within an email or text message, Facebook or Twitter post). Publishers can easily direct users to a mobile website from a blog or website, or even in print. An app simply cannot be shared in this fashion.

Reach – Mobile Websites Have Broader Reach
Because a mobile website is accessible across platforms and can be easily shared among users, as well as search engines, it has far greater reach capability than a native app.

Life Cycle – Mobile Websites Can’t be Deleted
The average shelf-life of an app is pretty short, less than 30 days according to some research, so unless your app is something truly unique and/or useful (ideally, both), it’s questionable how long it will last on a user’s device. Mobile websites on the other hand are always available for users to return to them.

A Mobile Website Can be an App!
Just like a standard website, mobile websites can be developed as database-driven web applications that act very much like native apps. A mobile web application can be a practical alternative to native app development.

Time and Cost - Mobile Websites are Easier and Less Expensive
Last but certainly not least, mobile website development is considerably more time and cost-effective than development of a native app, especially if you need to have a presence on different platforms (requiring development of multiple apps).

Support and Maintenance
The investment considerations of app vs website don’t end with the initial launch; properly supporting and maintaining an app (upgrades, testing, compatibility issues and ongoing development) is more much more expensive and involved than supporting a website over time.

When Does an App Make Sense

Despite the many inherent benefits of the mobile web, apps are still very popular, and there are a number of specific use scenarios where an app will be your best choice. Generally speaking, if you need one of the following, an app makes sense:

Interactivity/Gaming – for interactive games (think Angry Birds) an app is almost always going to be your best choice, at least for the foreseeable future.

Regular Usage/Personalization – If your target users are going to be using your app in a personalized fashion on a regular basis (think EverNote) then an app provides a great way to do that.

Complex Calculations or Reporting – If you need something that will take data and allow you to manipulate it with complex calculations, charts or reports (think banking or investment) an app will help you do that very effectively.

Native Functionality or Processing Required - mobile web browsers are getting increasingly good at accessing certain mobile-specific functions such as click-to-call, SMS and GPS. However, if you need to access a user's camera or processing power an app will still do that much more effectivley.
No connection Required – If you need to provide offline access to content or perform functions without a network/wireless connection then an app makes sense.
As with any project, when developing an app you want to ensure that your are getting an optimal return on your investment. What you want to avoid at all costs is the needless and expensive exercise of building an app to do something basic that can be achieved with a mobile website.

In Conclusion
As mobile use continues to grow worldwide, the “app vs web” question will remain a very real consideration for organizations seeking to establish a mobile presence. If your mobile goals are primarily marketing-driven, or if your aim is to deliver content and establish a broad mobile presence that can be easily maintained, shared between users, and found on search engines, then the a mobile-friendly responsive website is the logical choice.

On the other hand, if your goal is to provide a user experience that feels more like a gaming interface or a computer program than a website, or if you need access to a user's phone storage and native functions, then an app is probably going to be required.

It's also important to remember that a mobile/responsive website and a native app are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Plenty of organizations have both a mobile-friendly public website for their general web presence, as well as a downloadable native app to accommodate more specific requirements. In the end, it's all about choosing the right tool for the job......read more

Driverless Cars: The Current Big Players

coolambrose@gmail.com (Telecoms Rave) — Thu, 16 Mar 2017 12:11:00 +0000

An autonomous car (also known as a driverless car, auto, self-driving car, robotic car) is a vehicle that is capable of sensing its environment and navigating without human input. Many such vehicles are being developed, but as of February 2017 automated cars permitted on public roads are not yet fully autonomous. Below are the current big players already testing for commercial rollout.

Google

The internet giant announced that it was developing driverless cars in 2009 and began testing them on California’s roads in 2012. In February 2016, Google said it bore “some responsibility” after one of its self-driving cars struck a bus in a minor crash. Before that, its vehicles had driven more than one million miles without an incident that was the car’s fault, according to the company.

Google has said it plans to make its cars available to the public in 2020

Daimler

Believed by many industry experts to be the closest to bringing a fully autonomous car to market. The manufacturer, which owns Mercedes, has spent years developing self-driving features for its high-end models.

“Time and space will become the luxury goods of the future ,” lead engineer Ralf Herrtwich told Robotics & Automation News in April 2016

Ford

The American motor giant is keen to show it is at the forefront of developing new car technology and says its cars have equalled Google in reaching “level 4” autonomy. Ford has been rumoured to be in discussions with Google about a tie-up on driverless tech

Tesla

An icon of the electric car movement, Tesla has also been rapidly adding semi-autonomous technology to its high-end vehicles. This includes autopilot, which allows cars to navigate by themselves in many scenarios, as well as Summon, which allows Tesla owners to order cars to their door via a smartphone. In October 2016, Tesla said self-driving technology would be in all cars

Uber

The future of Uber’s ride-hailing app could be cars that get you between points without needing a driver, a scenario that could dramatically bring down prices. The company has hired driverless car experts from Carnegie Mellon University for a special unit, and is now testing cars in Pittsburgh

Volvo

Volvo is trialling self-driving technology in Sweden and plans to do so in London in 2018, before the technology becomes mainstream in the next decade. It has committed to nobody being killed or seriously injured in any Volvo sold from 2020

Apple

Apple is believed to have been secretly developing electric car technology for some time, and to have considered investments in several car companies. Recently, however, its plans appeared to have stalled and it is now working on developing software for other manufacturers.......read more

Intel Buys Driverless Car Company Mobileye For $15bn In Record-Rreaking Deal

coolambrose@gmail.com (Telecoms Rave) — Mon, 13 Mar 2017 16:41:00 +0000

Intel is acquiring self-driving technology company Mobileye as it gears up plans to put a fleet of autonomous vehicles on the road this year.

The chipmaker today announced it had entered into an agreement to acquire Mobileye, an Israeli tech firm focused on developing technology for self-driving cars. The acquisition is worth $63.54 per share, or about $15 billion total in a record breaking deal that marks the highest price paid for an autonomous driving specialist and for an Israeli tech company. Intel expects the deal to close in less than a year, and both companies' boards have already signed off.

The acquisition will result in a single autonomous-driving unit that combines Mobileye with Intel's Automated Driving Group. The group will be headquartered in Israel, and it will be led by Amnon Shashua, currently Mobileye's chairman and CTO.

Both Intel and Mobileye have been working with BMW on a fleet of self-driving vehicles due to start testing on the roads in the second half of this year.

Mobileye, founded in 1999, specialises in systems that prevent collisions and help autonomous cars navigate, accounting for 70pc of the global market.

Intel, meanwhile, has been developing a new chip that is designed to power autonomous vehicles. Having missed out on the smartphone market to rival chipmaker ARM, Intel is determined to be a major player in autonomous vehicles.

Intel and Mobileye aren't exactly strangers. The two companies have an established partnership with multiple companies in the automotive sector. Mobileye lent its software-side prowess to Delphi for its autonomous research and development, with Intel providing the processors. The two also partnered with BMW, which believes it can bring a self-driving mode to its vehicles by 2021.

"The acquisition of Mobileye essentially merges the intelligent eyes of the autonomous car with the intelligent brain that actually drives the car," said Brian Krzanich, chief executive of Intel.

Wireless/Inductive Charging

coolambrose@gmail.com (Telecoms Rave) — Tue, 14 Feb 2017 15:45:00 +0000

Wireless/Inductive charging uses an electromagnetic field to transfer energy between two objects through electromagnetic induction. This is usually done with a charging station. Energy is sent through an inductive coupling to an electrical device, which can then use that energy to charge batteries or run the device.

Induction chargers use an induction coil to create an alternating electromagnetic field from within a charging base, and a second induction coil in the portable device takes power from the electromagnetic field and converts it back into electric current to charge the battery. The two induction coils in proximity combine to form an electrical transformer.

Nikola Tesla was first demonstrated it in 1891 and its finding its use today.

Wireless Charging provides a convenient, safe, and reliable way to charge and power millions of electrical devices at home, in the workplace and in industry.

By eliminating the use of physical connectors and cables, wireless charging provides a number of efficiency, cost and safety advantages over the traditional charging cable.

From smartphones, to hand-held industrial devices and heavy-duty equipment applications, wireless power maintains safe, continuous, and reliable transfer of power to ensure all varieties of devices and equipment are charged and ready to go at a moment’s notice.

Advantages/Benefits:

Protected connections – No corrosion when the electronics are all enclosed, away from water or oxygen in the atmosphere. Less risk of electrical faults such as short circuit due to insulation failure, especially where connections are made or broken frequently.
Low infection risk – For embedded medical devices, transmission of power via a magnetic field passing through the skin avoids the infection risks associated with wires penetrating the skin.
Durability – Without the need to constantly plug and unplug the device, there is significantly less wear and tear on the socket of the device and the attaching cable.
Increased convenience and aesthetic quality – No need for cables.
Reduced cost associated with maintaining mechanical connectors. For example: Slip Rings
Safe powering or charging devices that need to remain sterile or hermetically sealed (waterproof)
Eliminate sparks and debris associated with wired contacts.

Disadvantages:

lower charging – Due to the lower efficiency, devices take longer to charge when supplied power is the same amount.
More expensive – Inductive charging also requires drive electronics and coils in both device and charger, increasing the complexity and cost of manufacturing.^[1]^[2]
Inconvenience - When a mobile device is connected to a cable, it can be freely moved around and operated while charging. In most implementations of inductive charging, the mobile device must be left on a pad to charge, and thus can't be moved around or easily operated while charging.

Applications:

Wireless charing for smartphones and tablets

Wireless charging for wearables

Wireless charging for AA battery powered devices.

Wireless charging for commercial applications where cables and connectors can become unreliable, dangerous or incur high maintenance costs.

Wireless charging of medical devices and equipment where traditional connectors become not only source of contamination, but are also a physical hazard as room configurations are constantly changing.

Wireless charging of electric vehicle; this could be carried out in a number of ways, including:

Parking spots & charging pads;with these pads built into specially designed parking spots, you’ll be able to charge your car while you’re grabbing your shopping or catching a movie.

Electrically charged highways of the future; with the charging devices built into the very asphalt itself.

Best Selling Phones of All Times

coolambrose@gmail.com (Telecoms Rave) — Tue, 14 Feb 2017 12:36:00 +0000

Motorola produced the first cell phone. Since then there have been produced around 17.37 billion mobile phones.

The Motorola StarTAC from 1996 was the first phone to be widely popular.The Nokia 3310 from 2000 was one of the most accepted and successful phones and sold 126 million units but
Nokia 1100 and its 1110 variant have been the best selling phone of all times with over 250 million units sold.
The Nokia 6100 and 6610 (above) from 2002 were the first colour-screen phones to sell over a million.
The Nokia 6600 from 2003 was the first camera phone to sell over a million units.
The Nokia N70 was the first smartphone to sell over a million.
The Motorola Q from 2005 was the first QWERTY phone to sell over a million.
The Nokia N95 was the first non-candybar smartphone to sell over a million.
in 2008, Apple’s iPhone 3G, which sold 25 million units, managed to jointly top the table with a Nokia product.

Below are the different statistics of the best selling phones based on;

Volumes of sales
Annual best-selling handsets (1992 – 2015)
Annual sales by manufacturer (1992 – 2005)
Annual sales by manufacturer (2006 – 2015)
Annual sales by manufacturer (Q1 2016– Q3 2016)

Top-selling mobile phones by volume of sales

Manufacturer	Model	Release year	Units sold (millions)
Nokia	1100	2003	250
Nokia	1110	2005	250
Apple	iPhone 6 & iPhone 6 Plus	2014-16	220
Nokia	3210	1999	150
Nokia	1200	2007	150
Nokia	6600	2003	150
Nokia	5230	2009	150
Samsung	E1100	2009–12	150
Nokia	2600 (2610/2626/2630)	2004	135
Motorola	RAZR V3	2004	130
Nokia	1600 (1650/1661)	2006	130
Nokia	3310 (3330)	2000	126
Nokia	1208 (1209)	2007	100
Samsung	Galaxy S4	2013	80
Nokia	6010 (6020/6030)	2004	75
Apple	iPhone 5	2012–13	70
Nokia	5130 (5220/5310)	2007	65
Apple	iPhone 4S	2011–14	60
Motorola	StarTAC	1996	60
Motorola	C200	2003–06	60
Samsung	Galaxy S III	2012–13	60
Apple	iPhone 5S	2013–16	52
Nokia	3100 (3120)	2003	50
Nokia	6230 (6233)	2004	50
Apple	iPhone 4	2010–13	50
Samsung	Galaxy S II	2011–12	40
Samsung	Galaxy Note II	2012–13	38
Apple	iPhone 3GS	2009–12	35
Nokia	6270 (6280)	2005	30
Nokia	5200 (5300)	2006	30
Samsung	E250	2006	30
Samsung	Star	2009–11	30
Samsung	Galaxy S	2010–12	25
Apple	iPhone 5C	2013–15	16
HTC	Thunderbolt	2011–12	16
Nokia	6120	1998	15
Siemens	M30 (M35i)	2000	15
Nokia	3510	2002	15
Nokia	6100	2002	15
Nokia	6610	2002	15
Siemens	A50	2002	15
Motorola	V220	2003	15
Sony Ericsson	K300	2004	15
Motorola	PEBL U6	2005	15
Motorola	SLVR L6	2005	15
Motorola	SLVR L7	2005	15
Sony Ericsson	J300	2005	15
Sony Ericsson	K750	2005	15
Motorola	KRZR K1	2006	15
Motorola	V195	2006	15
RIM	BlackBerry Pearl	2006	15
BenQ-Siemens	S68	2006	15
Sony Ericsson	K310	2006	15
Sony Ericsson	W810	2006	15
Nokia	E71	2008	15
LG	Chocolate	2009	15
Samsung	S8300 Tocco Ultra	2009	12
Samsung	Galaxy S5	2014	12
LG	Optimus One	2010	10
Alcatel	One Touch Mini OT-708	2009	5

Annual best-selling handsets

1992

Motorola Personal Phone, 8 million sold
Nokia 101.5 million sold

1996

Motorola StarTAC, 60 million sold
Nokia 1610, Unconfirmed volume sold

1997

Motorola d160, Unconfirmed volume sold

1998

Nokia 6120, 21 million sold
Motorola Montreal Unconfirmed volume sold

1999

Nokia 3210, 150 million sold

2000

Nokia 3310, 126 million sold
Nokia 8890, 15 million sold
Siemens M30/M35i, 15 million sold

2002

Nokia 6100, 15 million sold
Nokia 6610, 15 million sold
Nokia 3510, 15 million sold
Siemens A50, 15 million sold
Samsung SGH-T100, 12 million sold

2003

Nokia 1100, 250 million sold1
Nokia 3100/3120, 50 million sold
Nokia 3200/3220, 30 million sold
Nokia 2100, 20 million sold
Samsung SGH-E700, 15 million sold
Nokia N-Gage, 3 million sold
Nokia 6600, 2 million sold

2004

Nokia 2600/2610/2626/2630, 135 million sold
Motorola RAZR V3, 130 million sold
Nokia 6010/6020/6030, 75 million sold
Nokia 6230/6233, 50 million sold
Nokia 3220, 35 million sold
Nokia 2650, 35 million sold
Nokia 2300, 15 million sold
Nokia 3120, 15 million sold
Nokia 6170, 15 million sold
Nokia 5140, 15 million sold
Nokia 7260, 15 million sold
Sony Ericsson K300, 15 million sold
Samsung SGH-D500, 12 million sold

2005

Nokia 1110, 250 million sold1
Motorola/C139/C200, 60 million sold
Nokia N70/N72/N73, 45 million sold
Nokia 6101, 35 million sold
Nokia 6060, 35 million sold
Nokia 6270/6280, 30 million sold
Nokia 6670, 19 million sold
Motorola V220, 15 million sold
Motorola V195, 15 million sold
Sony Ericsson J300, 15 million sold
Sony Ericsson K750, 15 million sold
Nokia 6680, 15 million sold
Nokia 8800, 15 million sold
Nokia 6111, 15 million sold
Nokia 2680, 15 million sold
LG Chocolate, 15 million sold
Motorola Q, 1 million sold

2006

Nokia 1600/1650/1661, 130 million sold
Nokia 6070/6080, 50 million sold
Nokia 7360/7370/7380, 45 million sold
Nokia 6300, 35 million sold
Nokia 2310, 35 million sold
Nokia 5200/5300, 30 million sold
BlackBerry Pearl 8100, 15 million sold
BenQ-Siemens S68, 15 million sold
Sony Ericsson K310, 15 million sold
Sony Ericsson W810, 15 million sold
Sony Ericsson W300, 15 million sold
Motorola PEBL U6, 15 million sold
Motorola KRZR K1, 15 million sold
Motorola SLVR L6, 15 million sold
Motorola SLVR L7, 15 million sold
Nokia 6085, 15 million sold
Nokia 6125, 15 million sold
Nokia 6131, 15 million sold
Samsung SGH-D900, 3 million sold
Nokia 3250, 1 million sold

2007

Nokia 2600 classic, 15 million sold
Nokia 2760, 15 million sold
Nokia 5610, 15 million sold
Nokia 3110 classic, 15 million sold
Nokia 6500 Slide, 15 million sold
Nokia 3500, 15 million sold
Nokia 6500 classic, 15 million sold
Samsung SGH-E250, 12 million sold
LG Shine, 8 million sold
Nokia N95, 7 million sold
Apple iPhone, 7 million sold
LG Viewty (KU990), 2 million sold
HTC Touch, 2 million sold
Palm Centro, 2 million sold

2008

Apple iPhone 3G, 25 million sold
Nokia 2330 classic, 15 million sold
Nokia 7210 Supernova, 15 million sold
Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, 15 million sold
Nokia 5000, 15 million sold
Nokia E71, 15 million sold
Samsung Tocco (SGH-F480), 12 million sold
Samsung SGH-J700, 12 million sold
Samsung Tocco TouchWiz (SGH-F480), 5 million sold
Samsung Soul (SGH-U900), 1 million sold

2009

Nokia 5230, 150 million sold
Apple iPhone 3GS, 35 million sold
Samsung Tocco Ultra (S8300), 12 million sold
Samsung Star/Tocco Lite (S5230), 10 million sold
LG Cookie (KP500), 10 million sold
Alcatel One Touch Mini (OT-708), 5 million sold
Motorola Ming A1200, 3 million sold
Nokia N97, 2 million sold
Motorola Milestone/Droid, 1 million sold
HTC Magic, 1 million sold
Nokia 3720 classic, ? sold
Nokia E52, ? sold
Nokia 6700 classic, ? sold

2010

Apple iPhone 4, 40 million sold8
Samsung Galaxy S, 20 million sold9
Samsung S5620 Monte, 7 million sold
Nokia N8, 6 million sold
Motorola Milestone/Droid, 2 million sold
Samsung Wave (S8500), 2 million sold

2011

Apple iPhones – all variants: 140 million sold10
Samsung Galaxy S II, 40 million sold
Samsung Galaxy Y, 15 million sold
HTC Evo 4G, 14 million sold
Motorola Droid Bionic, 13 million sold
ZTE Blade, 10 million sold
Samsung Infuse, 9 million sold

2012

Apple iPhones – all variants: 110 million sold11
Samsung Galaxy S III, 50 million sold
Xiaomi Mi 2, 10 million sold12

2013

Samsung– all variants: 444 million sold13
- Samsung Galaxy S440 million sold14
- Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini???
Nokiaall variants: 250 million sold13
Apple iPhone – all variants: 150 million sold13

2014

Apple all variants, 169.2 million sold15

Annual sales by manufacturer (1992 – 2005)

1992

NEC:2 million sold
Nokia: 3 million sold16
Motorola: 4 million sold

1993

Nokia: 5 million sold
Motorola: unconfirmed million sold
NEC: unconfirmed million sold

1994

Motorola 12 million sold
Nokia: 9 million sold
NEC: 6 million sold

1995

Nokia: 13 million sold
Motorola unconfirmed million sold
NEC unconfirmed million sold

1996

Motorola: 60 million sold17
Nokia: 18 million sold18
Ericsson: unconfirmed million sold
NEC: unconfirmed million sold
Panasonic: unconfirmed million sold

1997

Motorola: 25.328 million sold19
Nokia: 20.593 million sold
Ericsson: 15.914 million sold
Panasonic: 8.627 million sold
Alcatel: 2.631 million sold
Others: 34.725 million sold

1998

Nokia: 37.374 million sold20
Motorola: 32.319 million sold19
Ericsson: 23.827 million sold
Panasonic: 13.397 million sold
Alcatel: 6.967 million sold
Samsung: 6 million sold
Others: 48.972 million sold

1999

Nokia: 76.335 million sold21
Motorola: 47.817 million sold
Ericsson: 29.785 million sold
Samsung: 17.686 million sold
Panasonic: 15.580 million sold
Others: 98 million sold

2000

Nokia: 126.369 million sold22
Motorola: 60.094 million sold
Ericsson: 41.467 million sold
Siemens: 26.989 million sold
Samsung: 20.639 million sold
Others: 140 million sold

2001

Nokia: 139.672 million sold22
Motorola: 59.092 million sold
Siemens: 29.753 million sold
Samsung: 28.234 million sold
Ericsson: 26.956 million sold
Others: 115.877 million sold

2002

Nokia: 151.4218 million (35.8% market share)
Motorola: 64.6401 million (15.3% market share)
Samsung: 41.6844 million (9.8% market share)
Siemens: 34.6180 million (8.2% market share)
Sony Ericsson: 23.1129 million (5.5% market share)
Others: 107.9414 million (25.5% market share)
Total: 423.4185 million (100% market share)

2003

Nokia: 180.6724 million (34.7% market share)
Motorola: 75.1771 million (14.5% market share)
Samsung: 54.4751 million (10.5% market share)
Siemens: 43.7543 million (8.4% market share)
Sony Ericsson: 26.6863 million (5.1% market share)
LG: 26.2137 million (5.0% market share)
Others: 113.0096 million (21.8% market share)
Total: 519.9855 million (100% market share)

2004

Nokia: 207.2313 million (30.7% market share)
Motorola: 104.1242 million (15.4% market share)
Samsung: 85.2384 million (12.6% market share)
Siemens: 48.4558 million (7.2% market share)
LG: 42.2768 million (6.3% market share)
Sony Ericsson: 42.0317 million (6.2% market share)
Others: 144.6437 million (21.6% market share)
Total: 674.0019 million (100% market share)

2005

Nokia: 265.6148 million (32.5% market share)
Motorola: 144.9204 million (17.7% market share)
Samsung: 103.7536 million (12.7% market share)
LG: 54.9246 million (6.7% market share)
Sony Ericsson: 51.7738 million (6.3% market share)
Siemens: 28.5906 million (3.5% market share)
Others: 166.9851 million (20.6% market share)
Total: 816.5629 million (100% market share)

Annual sales by manufacturer (2006 – 2015)

2006

Nokia: 344.9159 million (34.8% market share)
Motorola: 209.2509 million (21.1% market share)
Samsung: 116.4801 million (11.8% market share)
Sony Ericsson: 73.6416 million (7.4% market share)
LG: 61.9860 million (6.3% market share)
Others: 184.5880 million (18.6% market share)
Total: 990.8625 million (100% market share)

2007

Nokia: 435.4531 million (37.8% market share)
Motorola: 164.307 million (14.3% market share)
Samsung: 154.5407 million (13.4% market share)
Sony Ericsson: 101.3584 million (8.8% market share)
LG: 78.5763 million (6.8% market share)
Apple: 2.3 million sold29
Others: 218.6043 million (18.9% market share)
Total: 1,152.8398 million (100% market share)

2008

Nokia: 472.3150 million (38.6% market share)
Samsung: 199.1820 million (16.3% market share)
Motorola: 106.5900 million (8.7% market share)
LG: 102.5554 million (8.4% market share)
Sony Ericsson: 93.4145 million (7.6% market share)
Apple: 12 million sold31
Others: 248.1890 million (20.4% market share)
Total: 1,222.2452 million (100% market share)

2009

Nokia: 440.8816 million (36.4% market share)
Samsung: 235.7720 million (19.5% market share)
LG: 122.0553 million (10.1%market share)
Motorola: 58.4752 million (4.8% market share)
Sony Ericsson: 54.8734 million (4.5% market share)
Apple: 24.889 million sold33
Others: 299.1792 million (24.7% market share)
Total: 1,211.2366 million (100% market share)

201034

Nokia: 461.3182 million (28.9% market share)
Samsung: 281.0658 million (17.6% market share)35
LG: 114.1546 million (7.1% market share)
Research in Motion: 47.4516 million (3.0% market share)
Apple: 46.5983 million (2.9% market share)8 36
Sony Ericsson: 41.8192 million (2.6% market share)
Motorola: 38.5537 million (2.4% market share)
ZTE: 28.7687 million (1.8% market share)37
HTC: 24.6884 million (1.5% market share)
Huawei: 23.8147 million (1.5% market share)
Others: 488.5693 million (30.6% market share)
Total: 1,596.8024 million (100% market share)

2011

Nokia: 422.4783 million (23.8% market share)
Samsung: 313.9042 million (17.7% market share)39
Apple: 89.2632 million (5.0% market share)
LG: 86.3709 million (4.9% market share)
ZTE: 56.8818 million (3.2% market share)40
Research in Motion: 51.5419 million (2.9% market share)
HTC: 43.2669 million (2.4% market share)
Huawei: 40.6634 million (2.3% market share)
Motorola: 40.2690 million (2.3% market share)
Sony Ericsson: 32.5975 million (1.8% market share)
Others: 597.3269 million (33.7% market share)
Total: 1,774.5641 million (100% market share)

2012

Samsung: 384.6312 million (22.0% market share)
Nokia: 333.9380 million (19.1% market share)
Apple: 130.1332 million (7.5% market share)
ZTE: 67.3444 million (3.9% market share)
LG: 58.0159 million (3.3% market share)
Huawei Technologies: 47.2883 million (2.7% market share)
TCL Communication: 37.1766 million (2.1% market share)
Research in Motion: 34.2103 million (2.0% market share)
Motorola: 33.9163 million (1.9% market share)
HTC: 32.1218 million (1.8% market share)
Others: 587.3996 million (33.6% market share)
Total: 1,746.1756 million (100% market share)

2013

Samsung: 444.4442 million (24.6% market share)
Nokia: 250.7931 million (13.9% market share)
Apple: 150.7859 million (8.3% market share)
LG: 69.0245 million (3.8% market share)
ZTE: 59.8988 million (3.3% market share)
Huawei: 53.2951 million (2.9% market share)
TCL Communication: 49.5313 million (2.7% market share)
Lenovo: 45.2847 million (2.5% market share)
Sony Mobile Communications: 37.5957 million (2.1% market share)
Yulong: 32.6014 million (1.8% market share)
Others: 613.7100 million (34% market share)
Total: 1,806.9647 million (100% market share)

2014

Samsung: 392.546 million (20.9% market share)
Apple: 191.426 million (10.2% market share)
Microsoft: 185.660 million (9.9% market share)
Lenovo Motorola: 84.029 million (4.5% market share)
LG: 76.096 million (4% market share)
Huawei: 70.499 million (3.8% market share)
TCL Communication: 64.026 million (3.4% market share)
Xiaomi: 56.529 million (3% market share)
ZTE: 53.910 million (2.9% market share)
Sony Mobile: 37.791 million (2% market share)
Micromax: 37.094 million (2% market share)
Others: 629.360 million (33.5% market share)
Total: 1,878.968 million (100% market share)

2015

Samsung: 320.2197 million (22.5% market share)
Apple: 225.8506 million (15.9% market share)
Huawei: 104.0947 million (7.3% market share)
Lenovo Motorola: 72.7482 million (5.1% market share)
Xiaomi: 65.6186 million (4.6% market share)
Others: 635.3685 million (44.6% market share)
Total: 1,423.9003 million (100% market share)

Annual sales by manufacturer (Q1 2016 – Q3 2016)

Q1 2016

Samsung: 81.1869 million (23.5% market share)
Apple: 51.6295 million (14.8% market share)
Huawei: 28.8610 million (8.3% market share)
Oppo: 16.1126 million (4.6% market share)
Xiaomi: 15.0480 million (4.3% market share)
Others: 156.4134 million (44.8% market share)
Total: 349.2514 million (100% market share)

Q2 2016

Samsung: 76.7435 million (22.3% market share)
Apple: 44.3950 million (12.9% market share)
Huawei: 30.6707 million (8.9% market share)
Oppo: 18.4896 million (5.4% market share)
Xiaomi: 15.5307 million (4.5% market share)
Others: 158.5303 million (46.0% market share)
Total: 344.3597 million (100% market share)

Q3 2016

Samsung: 71.7335 million (19.2% market share)
Apple: 43.0007 million (11.5% market share)
Huawei: 32.4895 million (8.7% market share)
Oppo: 24.9366 million (6.7% market share)
BBK Communication Equipment: 19.8789 million (5.3% market share)
Others: 181.2533 million (48.6% market share)
Total: 373.2925 million (100% market share)

Ericsson, Qualcomm, and NETGEAR launch Telstras World-First Commercial Gigabit LTE Network with 150Mbps Upload Speeds

coolambrose@gmail.com (Telecoms Rave) — Mon, 06 Feb 2017 12:58:00 +0000

Telstra, Ericsson, Qualcomm Technologies and NETGEAR deliver the world's first commercial Gigabit LTE network and faster upload data rates, another step towards future 5G capabilities
Extends Telstra's current network download speed leadership to Gigabit speeds (1Gbps) whilst doubling upload peak speed (~150Mbps)
Technologies deployed support the evolution of advanced consumer and business applications

Telstra, Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC), Qualcomm Technologies Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, and NETGEAR announce the world's first commercial Gigabit LTE network and device. Telstra confirmed at the "Gigabit LTE Experience" event in Sydney today that their Gigabit LTE service has launched in select state capital city CBDs, with more to follow.

The Gigabit LTE NETGEAR device, Nighthawk M1, will first be made available to consumers in Australia in late February, 2017. The newly-launched Gigabit LTE service will deliver extremely fast access to consumers' favorite content, and even faster access to enterprise applications and business-critical data. Gigabit performance will improve access to high-quality video streaming, and facilitate emerging mobile virtual reality applications and experiences, and is a key step towards 5G.

In addition to Gigabit LTE speeds on the downlink, Telstra's new network capability also delivers up to double the previous uplink speeds, meaning uploading content to social media, the cloud or business applications will be much faster.

Telstra was the first globally to launch 600Mbps download speeds (Sept 2015) and now further extends this global network leadership with Gigabit LTE. Gigabit LTE is enabled by LTE Advanced features including 4x4 MIMO, 3CA (Three Carrier Aggregation) and higher order modulation (256QAM). On the uplink, Telstra's new network capability uses 64QAM and 2CA (Two Carrier Aggregation) for a peak upload speed of up to 150Mbps. These new features and capabilities are all important steps as Telstra evolves its network towards 5G.

Gigabit LTE is not only about high peak speeds but also delivers more network capacity which benefits all users. A Gigabit LTE mobile device gets the job done faster with the ability to allow more network resources to be available for other users. In addition, the utilization of 4x4 MIMO within the new NETGEAR Nighthawk M1 Mobile Router (MR1100) Gigabit device, equipped with the Qualcomm® Snapdragon(TM) X16 LTE modem, allows 4-way receive diversity. The 4-way receive diversity capability works to support improved data throughput throughout all areas of the LTE network including both the Gigabit enabled areas and as well as the other remaining LTE network areas.

Mike Wright, Group Managing Director, Networks, Telstra says: "As the roll out of Gigabit LTE continues, our customers with a Gigabit capable device can enjoy a faster mobile experience for both downloads and uploads. As our customers continue to use increasing amounts of data for entertainment and business use, Telstra's continuous innovation ensures our network is ready to deliver the country's best mobile experience.

"Gigabit LTE is also an important step on our journey to 5G and demonstrates Telstra's commitment to delivering Australians a world class network now and into the future. We are well placed to evolve our 4G network and are putting the building blocks in place for Australia to be ready for 5G - this will deliver more bandwidth and lower latencies which are critical for emerging applications such as downloading 4K video, IoT, autonomous vehicles, augmented reality and shared virtual reality," said Wright.

Per Narvinger, Vice President Network Systems, Ericsson says: "Once again we are pleased to partner with Telstra to deliver the world's first commercial Gigabit LTE network which we see as an important step as Telstra continues toward 5G. Gigabit LTE provides end users with even faster mobile broadband speeds, further improving their mobile experience while supporting new emerging bandwidth intensive applications. It is exciting to deliver LTE advances that employ LTE carrier aggregation of 60MHz of spectrum with higher order MIMO, and advanced LTE modulation which are all necessary ingredients for Gigabit LTE."

Mike Finley, senior vice president, president Qualcomm North America, Qualcomm Technologies Inc., says "We are proud to support the launch of the world's first commercial Gigabit LTE product through our close workings with Telstra, NETGEAR and Ericsson. The Qualcomm Snapdragon X16 LTE modem is the first commercial modem in the world to make these game-changing speeds and user experiences possible."

Andrew Green, Vice President of Mobile Network Products, NETGEAR, says: "For the past 15 years, NETGEAR has delivered the most innovative mobile broadband products for Telstra subscribers. With their focus on innovation and customer experience, we are delighted that Telstra has again selected NETGEAR for the initial launch of our Nighthawk M1 Mobile Router. The new Nighthawk M1 takes advantage of the latest of LTE and Wi-Fi technologies on the Telstra 4GX network; enabling subscribers to enjoy the benefits of a secure network with the fastest download speeds."

Ericsson is present today in all high-traffic LTE markets including US, Japan, and South Korea, and is ranked first for handling the most global LTE traffic. In addition, forty percent of the world's total mobile traffic is carried over Ericsson networks. More than 270 LTE RAN and Evolved Packet Core networks have been delivered by Ericsson worldwide, of which over 200 are live commercially.

* Note: Gigabit LTE delivers a peak physical layer download speed of ~979Mbps and uplink 2 CA delivers a peak uplink physical layer speed of ~150Mbps and requires a suitable device (e.g. Cat16). Actual day to day speeds experienced by users depend on network conditions and the user's application...read more

Ericsson first to showcase 5G in Thailand

coolambrose@gmail.com (Telecoms Rave) — Mon, 06 Feb 2017 12:53:00 +0000

First live 5G end-to-end demonstration in Thailand using Ericsson’s 5G test bed and 5G ready core

The demonstration delivers 5.7Gbps throughput and 3ms latency

Demonstration held as part of three-day technology showcase marking Ericsson Thailand’s 111 years in the country

Today, Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) has performed the first live 5G end-to-end demonstration in Thailand using its 5G test bed and 5G ready core, bringing the country one step closer to realizing the Digital Thailand vision.

At a three-day showcase event marking Ericsson’s 111 years in Thailand, the 5G live demonstration highlighted some of the capabilities offered by the new technology, achieving a peak throughput of 5.7Gbps and latency as low as 3ms.¹

This milestone is part of Ericsson’s ongoing commitment in Thailand to constantly introduce the latest technology and insights to Thai consumers and enterprise customers, supporting the Thai government’s vision of a Digital Thailand.

Takorn Tantasith, Secretary General of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), Thailand, says: “We expect to have broadband connectivity everywhere in Thailand, both big cities and over 75,000 villages nationwide by 2018. Along with the fixed internet deployment, we plan to release more spectrum bandwidth of 380 MHz by 2020, which will add to the existing 420 MHz already allocated to the telecommunications industry. This will handle the rising demand for online services, IoT and innovative applications as the country transforms into a Digital Thailand.”

The multi-Gbps speeds delivered by the technology in the Ericsson 5G test bed can support not only growing mobile broadband and video demand on smartphones and other mobile devices, but also provide a viable and cost effective alternative to residential fiber connections.

As 5G offers greater throughput and lower latency, it will bring more use cases to the Internet of Things (IoT), allowing new applications for consumers like Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, autonomous/AI-controlled cars; and industry applications like smart vehicles and transport infrastructure, remote healthcare, robotics and many more.

Nadine Allen, Head of Ericsson Thailand, says: “According to Ericsson’s Digital Thailand report, Thai consumers are ahead of, or on par with, global peers when it comes to embracing ICT and they are ready for the Internet of Things. The 5G innovation demonstrated today is just one part of the whole technology experience.”

Other technology innovations presented in the showcase include advancements in Radio Network Evolution, Industrialized Cloud, Connected Industries, and Digital Business Solutions...read more

MTN Group Announces Exchange of 51% Shares in INT Towers Limited for 29% Stake in IHS Towers Limited.

coolambrose@gmail.com (Telecoms Rave) — Mon, 06 Feb 2017 12:16:00 +0000

On 1st February 2017, MTN Group Limited (“MTN”) announced that it will exchange its 51% interest in Nigeria Tower InterCo B.V., the parent company of INT Towers Limited (“INT”), the Nigerian telecom tower operator, for an additional shareholding in IHS Holding Limited (“IHS Group") (the "Transaction"). As a result of the Transaction, MTN’s economic interest in IHS Group will increase from approximately 15% to approximately 29% (note 1). There are no conditions precedent to the Transaction and it is expected to close once the new shares in IHS Group have been issued during Q1 2017.

In exchanging all of its interest in INT in Nigeria for additional shares in the pan-African IHS Group, all of MTN's interest in IHS will sit alongside a world-class group of investors including Wendel, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), Korea Investment Corporation (KIC) and Emerging Capital Partners (ECP), among other international investors.

The Transaction enables MTN to simplify its tower ownership structure and diversify its tower infrastructure exposure across the IHS Group which operates in a number of markets across Africa. Moreover, the Transaction will better enable MTN to crystallise value for MTN’s shareholders in the future. The investment in IHS Group allows MTN to benefit economically from its previously owned passive infrastructure and continued network investment.

MTN’s President and Executive Chairman, Phuthuma Nhleko, noted that “the transaction represents a significant step in MTN’s long-standing partnership with IHS. It simplifies our ownership structure and diversifies our tower investments across the IHS Group. IHS Group is extremely well positioned for future growth and build-out from 3G upgrades and the move to LTE across its key markets.”

Issam Darwish, Executive Vice Chairman and Group CEO of IHS Group, said: “The MTN transaction and partnership was transformational for IHS and has allowed us to invest a significant amount of capital to better serve our customers, accelerate our growth and the development of critical telecommunications infrastructure across Africa. We are delighted to announce the transaction which simplifies the shareholding structure of IHS Group and marks an important milestone as we strengthen our capital structure and our position as the leading independent tower company in EMEA."

The Transaction is a Category 2 transaction in terms of the JSE Listings Requirements.

About IHS Group: IHS Group is the largest independent tower operator in Africa, Europe and Middle East and the tenth largest independent tower company in the world, with over 23,300 towers. Founded in 2001, IHS Group provides services across the full tower value chain – colocation on owned towers, deployment and managed services. IHS Group continues to grow and develop its business with leading market positions in Nigeria, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Zambia and Rwanda and has also recently led in-market consolidation in Africa through its acquisition of Helios Towers Nigeria in early 2016.

Note 1 - Prior to the Transaction, MTN's interest in IHS Group was non-voting. Post the transaction, to ensure the continued independent and competitive proposition of IHS Group, MTN's influence on IHS Group is significantly restricted by a number of limitations including non voting rights, no board representation, and restrictions on access to information. These restrictions do not impact MTN's economic interest. Given limitations on influence, MTN's interest in IHS Group has to date been accounted for as a financial instrument “available for sale” in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards, whereby MTN only accounts for the fair value changes relating to its investment directly in the statement of comprehensive income and does not consolidate or equity account the net profits or net assets of IHS Group. Whilst MTN continually makes assessments of critical judgments as it relates to its accounting treatment, the accounting treatment in respect of IHS Group is not currently expected to change.

MTN’s approximate15% interest in IHS Group was held at fair value of ZAR11.4 billion at 30 June 2016. For further information please refer to note 5 “fair value measurement of investments” in MTN’s consolidated financial results for the six months ended 30 June 2016.

Note 2 - The ratio at which shares in Nigeria Tower Interco BV were exchanged for new IHS Group shares was based on historic financial performance adjusted for growth, leverage and other adjustments.

Note 3 - About INT: INT is a Nigeria-based tower operator. The company was founded in 2014 by IHS Group and MTN which subsequently acquired 8,850 existing towers from MTN Nigeria. As at 30 June 2016, MTN's stake in INT was equity accounted for and whose carrying value was approximately ZAR4.6 billion. MTN recorded Net Losses of approximately ZAR2.5 billion in relation to INT for the six months ended 30 June 2016. As a result of the transaction MTN will derecognise its interest in INT....continue reading

NTEL LAUNCHES THE FIRST VoLTE CALL IN NIGERIA

coolambrose@gmail.com (Telecoms Rave) — Fri, 26 Feb 2016 08:51:00 +0000

NatCom Development and Investment Limited, the company which acquired the core assets of NiTel/MTel (in liquidation), made its first Voice over LTE call in Lagos yesterday.

The company, which trades as ‘ntel’, said the call was made at 3.30pm at its new Tier III data centre on Lagos Island.

A statement by the company reads: “The VoLTE call was completed in partnership with Original Equipment Manufacturers L M Ericsson of Sweden and Sony Electronics of Japan. This follows ntel’s first data call on January 18, and its first SIP voice call on February18. ntel will now progress work with Nigeria’s other mobile operators and international partners to perform cross-network VoLTE calls: This will ensure that ntel’s customers can connect as easily as they can to customers in Nigeria and elsewhere in the world: a network now comprising more than seven billion telephones, globally.

“This crystal-clear, high-definition VoLTE call was made via an ntel sim card and is set to be a significant differentiating factor for ntel as it progresses with the roll-out of Nigeria’s largestAdvanced 4G/LTE network, due to be launched shortly.”

ntel CEO Kamar Abass said the first call was a “confirmation that the key network elements are now in place to support the full commercial launch of premium integrated voice, video and data services over 4G/LTE”.

He added: “The ntel network is built on the 900/1800 Mhz which is the most efficient propagation frequencies for the deployment of 4G/LTE technology.”

Ntel will commence full operations voice service on 0804 numbering plan in its key launch states, shortly...read more

NCC versus MTN

coolambrose@gmail.com (Telecoms Rave) — Fri, 19 Feb 2016 16:05:00 +0000

In October 2015, the NCC had slammed MTN originally with a whooping $5.2 billion fine for failing to disconnect unregistered subscribers but was eventually reduced to $3.9 billion in December. This failure was in direct violation of regulations put in place by the NCC in order to combat the uptick in kidnappings and the Boko Haram insurgency, both of which were being perpetuated with the use of cell phones. Well, Information Nigeria brings you update on the drama between NCC and MTN so far…

– The NCC had given MTN a concession on the fine and reduced it to N780 billion but MTN failed to pay up the sum on or before the December 31, 2015 deadline, and as such the fine returned to N1.04 trillion.

– MTN is now suing the NCC and the Attorney General of Nigeria, Abubakar Malami, contending that as a regulatory body the NCC does not have the right to assume all the functions of the state.

– According to the AGF, MTN is using its lawsuit to buy more time on paying the fine and moving its money out of Nigeria.

– The federal government via mareva injunction is seeking to freeze the accounts of MTN Nigeria Communications Limited in Nigeria.

– This injunction is targeted at barring MTN from emptying its accounts in 21 commercial banks in the country and preventing the telecoms giant from boycotting the payment of the N1.04 trillion fine imposed on it by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for its failure to deactivate its unregistered subscribers.

– The application was filed by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), due to concern that MTN could move all of its funds out of the country before the fine is enforced as MTN was in the habit of repatriating its funds out of Nigeria.
– The Minister revealed that between October 2007 and May 2009, a period of 19 months, MTN moved repatriated $7.7 billion made in Nigeria to a foreign account.

– There are conflicting reports as to whether the court approved the application or dismissed it. According to THISDAY newspaper, the court did not approve the application saying the AGF did not provide enough evidence that MTN wants to repatriate its funds out of Nigeria but Sahara Reporters, said the court granted the application...http://www.informationng.com/

Etisalat Sues MTN Nigeria Over Visafone Acquisition Capacity

coolambrose@gmail.com (Telecoms Rave) — Fri, 19 Feb 2016 15:39:00 +0000

ABU Dhabi-headquartered telecoms company Etisalat is suing MTN for the second time in less than a year in Nigeria.

Etisalat said it was suing MTN over the latter’s purchase of Nigerian internet provider Visafone Communications. Etisalat said MTN’s purchase could create a dominant data services market player in Nigeria, harming competition.

MTN later confirmed that Etisalat Nigeria had served it with a court summons based on a lawsuit. But MTN added that it was not the first time it had been sued in Nigeria by Etisalat.

“In July 2015, the company (Etisalat Nigeria) filed a suit against the NCC (Nigerian Communications Commission) and MTN, at the Federal High Court, Lagos, seeking a number of orders including an order of mandamus to compel NCC to direct MTN to withdraw its 11 kobo (Nigerian cents) per second tariff plan, among others,” said MTN.

“This was the same tariff plan widely advertised and being charged by other networks including Etisalat and approved by the NCC.

“MTN filed a preliminary objection challenging the suit, and on December 2 2015, Etisalat’s action was dismissed by the court with costs awarded in favour of NCC and MTN,” said the company.

Regarding the latest court action by Etisalat, MTN Nigeria executive Amina Oyagbola said the acquisition of Visafone was concluded after obtaining statutory and regulatory approvals.

However, Ms Oyagbola was not willing to comment further on the lawsuit as the matter is “sub judice”.....http://www.informationng.com/

TELECARTOONS

coolambrose@gmail.com (Telecoms Rave) — Fri, 19 Feb 2016 11:31:00 +0000

Internet Of Things (IOT) Is Here, From Misery To Reality

coolambrose@gmail.com (Telecoms Rave) — Sat, 13 Feb 2016 13:52:00 +0000

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the network of physical objects—devices, vehicles, buildings and other items which are embedded with electronics, software, sensors, and network connectivity, which enables these objects to collect and exchange data. The Internet of Things allows objects to be sensed and controlled remotely across existing network infrastructure, creating opportunities for more direct integration of the physical world into computer-based systems, and resulting in improved efficiency, accuracy and economic benefit; when IoT is augmented with sensors and actuators, the technology becomes an instance of the more general class of cyber-physical systems, which also encompasses technologies such as smart grids, smart homes, intelligent transportation and smart cities. Each thing is uniquely identifiable through its embedded computing system but is able to inter-operate within the existing Internet infrastructure. Experts estimate that the IoT will consist of almost 50 billion objects by 2020.

It appears the sky is the limit when it comes to development of the Internet of Things, as there truly are no bounds to what people can think of that needs to become ‘smart,’ or network connected. Whether it’s smart dinnerware–including a fork that lets you monitor your eating and food intake habits, or a plate that instantly identifies, weighs, and journals everything you eat–or even cookware like a smart frying pan that will turn even the most novice of cooking buffoons into an instant culinary master, everything in our lives will soon be connected and in constant communication with everything else around us.

In this burgeoning new world order it seems that no doodad or whatchamacallit is too small or too insignificant to be part of the Internet of Things, with the digital world operating under the assumption that everything will instantly be better when its given network connectivity and branded ‘smart.

The BIG questions are; Do we really need every minutia of our existence connected to some all-encompassing network? Not only that, but what happens when that network fails and we suddenly find ourselves without the requisite knowledge or skill to operate or perform the simplest of things? Will ‘smart’ tech make us dumb?

Simply put, when everything is smart, nothing is smart, and the human race will be worse off when our collective dependency on technology becomes increasingly absolute.

It is only a matter of time before all new cars are will be connected to the internet and depending on which analyst report or expert opinion you listen to, the number of Things that will be connected to the Internet in the next five years will be anywhere from 1 billion to 100 billion. The second big area of conjecture is how they will connect to the internet – will it be 4G, LTE, Wi-FI, 5G or any one of a number of low-power networks over unlicensed spectrum?

The third concern is that after these billions of devices are let loose on us who will be responsible for managing them or, more importantly, keeping control of them. Every Thing has to be connected to some other Thing be it a home management system, a smartphone, a network controller or a central cloud-based server.

The impact of IoT is going to be nothing short of transformational, dwarfing the impact of even the mobile and smartphone revolutions. Like an exploding supernova, it will lead to the birth of completely new industries and the disruption or extinction of existing ones.

There has been major investment and campaigns from top companies in research and technologies to make this concept a reality.

Huawei, is leveraging its global market power to establish itself as the default choice for providing a unified IoT ecosystem, but in a surprising twist, not by focusing on hardware, but by transitioning into the software side of things.

Since the advent of the IoT industry companies have been vying to be the default platform that runs our growing connected everything existence, and it’s here that Huawei is hoping to dominate the market. Last week the company unveiled its LiteOS, an operating system designed specifically to run on products not traditionally designed to connect to the Internet, but in this push to get everything connected, soon will.

According to the Chinese telecom manufacturer, the OS will be exceedingly small in size, a meager 10KB—by comparison, most current operating systems are several gigabytes in size—and will require no configuration at the user end.

Verizon has announced a new offering for businesses and government users that will allow them to prioritize different enterprise and IoT (Internet of Things) applications.

The solution, dubbed as Private Network Traffic Management, is the first of its kind in the US, and will be a subscription-based service available only to Verizon Private Network customers. It can be added to select Verizon Private Network LTE devices for a monthly, per-user fee, depending on the service-level option selected. The service levels feature a “mission critical” traffic management class, which Verizon says is ideal for applications such as video and VoIP.

Cisco is leveraging its familiarity with networking to evolve into a new role in today’s technological world, providing the backbone for the growing IoT market, and with that, the company announced earlier this week that it is purchasing Jasper Technologies Inc, a tech start-up that provides arguably one of the best connectivity platforms for disparate connected devices, for a cool $1.4 billion.

Not only is Jasper a leading IoT platform for connecting multiple devices, such a cars, wearables or e-readers, but Jasper also allows devices to connect and manage content delivery over multiple networks, meaning Cisco now stands as probably the first one-stop shop for the world’s IoT needs.

Just last week AT&T released an statement regarding its own IoT efforts, revealing some surprising numbers regarding the exponential growth of the connected everything industry.

AT&T is connecting more people, processes and machines with the Internet of Things (IoT). Since January 2015, AT&T has struck IoT agreements with more than 136 companies across numerous industries… The AT&T network had nearly 22 million IoT connected devices worldwide as of March 31, 2015. More than 945,000 smart devices connected during the first quarter of this year. That’s 70 percent more than the same quarter a year ago. Of those devices, 684,000 were connected cars. AT&T is leading the industry, working with eight of the top automakers.

As AT&T’s CEO of Mobile and Business Solutions Ralph de la Vega went on to say, the company is seeing interest from companies in almost every industry. “They want to connect their machines, fleets, factories, shipping containers – even pallets – to our network,” de la Vega said. “We’re helping businesses solve real problems by building custom solutions that automate operations, reduce costs, and save time. With our highly secure and reliable network, there’s no limit to what can be connected.”

iOS 7 vs Android Jelly Bean vs Windows Phone 8 vs BB10-Which is best in the battle of the new platforms?

coolambrose@gmail.com (Telecoms Rave) — Fri, 11 Oct 2013 15:40:00 +0000

The battle for dominance of the smartphone world is one that has been raging for a few years. With the migration of consumers from feature phones to modern wonders such as the iPhone 5 and the HTC One, or even the cheap as chips offerings like the Nokia Lumia 520 or Huawei Ascend G330, it is clear where the money, and the future lies.
We've seen some impressive hardware come and go, quad-cores grace most flagship devices (i.e. Sony Xperia Z or HTC One) and there is even the quad/octa core that sits inside the Samsung Galaxy S4, dependent on your location.
Needless to say, all the big guns in the tech industry have some level of input into the mobile OS world. Apple has iOS (just about to reach iOS 7), Google has Android, the most recent version being 4.2 Jelly Bean, Microsoft has Windows Phone 8, leaving BlackBerry with its hopes pinned on BB10.

Interface

The iOS 7 interface is a radical new look compared with previous iterations. Although with a clean and modern new look, the formula based upon simplicity is one that has been stuck to. Icons have had an overhaul, and there is transparency through apps, giving iOS devices a more unified feel.

Users familiar with previous iOS versions may be in for a bit of a shock, with elements such as the lock screen taking a new look. Elements now seem more rounded, and much brighter than before. On the face of it, things seem very different with iOS 7, but the real changes go deeper.
Android is currently sitting at version 4.2, which is another iteration of the popular Jelly Bean OS. Jelly Bean built upon the work done by 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, with everything being much smoother with 'Project Butter', and the introduction of Google Now.....continue reading.....

Ericsson redefines small cell market with Ericsson Radio Dot System

coolambrose@gmail.com (Telecoms Rave) — Fri, 27 Sep 2013 12:17:00 +0000

Minimalist small cell radio will fully integrate with macro mobile networks and leverage existing indoor wiring and outdoor cellular infrastructure
Elegant, dot-shaped design is unobtrusive in environment but packs a big punch for coverage and capacity and improves indoor user experience
14 patents back the innovative solution

Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) is launching a cellular radio that is small enough to fit a person's hand, but provides enough indoor network coverage for a crowd. The disk-shaped, break-through solution, called Ericsson Radio Dot System, addresses a broad range of scenarios for providing high-quality access to mobile broadband and voice services indoors.

An in-building environment presents a special set of challenges for mobile operators, concerning complexity, scalability and service continuity. Current indoor solutions are built mainly for voice coverage and do not meet the growing capacity demands of apps. Covering major parts of buildings has been challenging, for reasons such as high costs and limited scalability.

Ericsson Radio Dot System is compact and offers flexible mounting. The device weighs 300 grams, is the result of two years of research and development, and incorporates 14 patents. It introduces a revolutionary antenna element, or "dot," which delivers mobile broadband access to users. Because of its convenient size, scalability, and compelling evolution path, this product caters to different kinds of users in medium to large indoor locations, and aims to address operators' needs of offering a complete indoor solution.

Dots are connected and powered via standard internet LAN cables (Category 5/6/7) to indoor radio units that link to a base station. Radio Dot System leverages the same industry-leading features found in Ericsson's macro base station. Deployments and upgrades are simple, addressing growing capacity and coverage requirements. Thus the users' experience is consistent wherever they go and the indoor network evolves in lockstep with the outdoor network. Ericsson Radio Dot System supports integration with Ericsson's carrier Wi-Fi portfolio enabling features such as real-time traffic steering to ensure the best user experience across both Wi-Fi and 3GPP networks.

Johan Wibergh, head of Ericsson Business Unit Networks, says: "With the Radio Dot System we lower the threshold to building indoor coverage. The dot is the most cost-effective, no-compromise solution to the indoor coverage challenges expressed by our customers. It is ultra-small but can scale to virtually unlimited capacity; it is easy to install, future proof and it is 100 percent integrated with existing mobile networks."

The product has already been gaining interest from mobile operators in the United States. Kris Rinne, Senior Vice President, Network and Product Planning, AT&T Services, Inc., says: "Small cells are a key component of AT&T's Project VIP network enhancement program as we seek to constantly improve our customers' mobile Internet experience. Delivering a great wireless experience indoors can present both technical and logistical challenges. A solution like the Ericsson Radio Dot System gives AT&T another tool to choose from in its next-generation toolkit."

Ken Rehbehn, Principal Analyst, Yankee Group,says: "Sleek form factors that focus radio capability to solve the indoor deployment challenge in a fresh and compelling way will be welcomed into a wide variety of business and office venues. Ericsson Radio Dot System leverages existing indoor wire facilities to reduce installation hurdles and cost, and because it builds on Ericsson standard radio architecture, it provides an extensive feature set without compromising future evolution."

The product is expected to be commercially available in late 2014....continue reading...

BlackBerry pauses global rollout of BBM for Android, iOS citing leak

coolambrose@gmail.com (Telecoms Rave) — Mon, 23 Sep 2013 14:12:00 +0000

The much anticipated release of BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) for Android and iOS hit a roadblock on Saturday, with the company saying it is pausing the first ever rollout of the popular messaging app to third-party platforms.
Having announced that BlackBerry Messenger would be available for Android on Saturday and iPhone on Sunday, there was huge anticipation for the impending release of the application on Google's mobile platform on Saturday. However, that never materialised, as the official build of BlackBerry Messenger for Android never hit Google Play Store, though a leaked build was seen floating around.
This leaked build obviously got circulated quite a bit, with BlackBerry revealing over 1.1 million active users within 8 hours. The company blamed this leaked build for "issues", which it "attempted to address throughout the day".
While the iOS version of the app did hit Apple's App Store in some countries in the Eastern Hemisphere early hours of Sunday, BlackBerry has now paused further rollout of the app in other countries, and even pulled the app from countries it did release in.
Users who managed to install the iOS version of BlackBerry Messenger before it was pulled will be able to continue using the app. However, BlackBerry revealed it is disabling the leaked Android build, so anyone who got their hands on the unofficial build is out of luck.
BlackBerry did give an exact date on when BlackBerry Messenger for Android will be available again, but it did say that continued rollout for iOS and a 'staggered' rollout for Android will begin "as soon as we are able." Whether that means a couple of days, weeks, or months, is anyone's guess.
Here is BlackBerry's statement on the subject in full:

Prior to launching BBM for Android, an unreleased version of the BBM for Android app was posted online. The interest and enthusiasm we have seen already - more than 1.1 million active users in the first 8 hours without even launching the official Android app - is incredible. Consequently, this unreleased version caused issues, which we have attempted to address throughout the day.
Our teams continue to work around the clock to bring BBM to Android and iPhone, but only when it's ready and we know it will live up to your expectations of BBM. We are pausing the global roll-out of BBM for Android and iPhone. Customers who have already downloaded BBM for iPhone will be able to continue to use BBM. The unreleased Android app will be disabled, and customers who downloaded it should visit www.BBM.com to register for updates on official BBM for Android availability.

As soon as we are able, we will begin a staggered country roll-out of BBM for Android and continue the roll-out of BBM for iPhone. Please follow @BBM on Twitter for the latest updates and go to www.BBM.com to sign-up for updates about BBM for Android and iPhone. These issues have not impacted BBM service for BlackBerry..........Continue reading.....

Microsoft Surface with Windows RT

coolambrose@gmail.com (Telecoms Rave) — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 08:41:00 +0000

For 37 years now, Microsoft has built software for other companies’ devices. With the Surface tablet, which starts at $499, it finally designed a PC of its own — one of the sleekest, most ambitious devices ever to run Windows. The magnesium case looks and feels good and the integrated kickstand is beautifully done. And the super-thin magnetic keyboard cover — included with the $599 Surface, or $119.99 on its own — is way better than on-screen typing. There’s one big catch: Windows RT, Surface’s operating system, needs far more applications before it’s ready to compete with the iPad. But the device itself is so slick that it leaves you rooting for RT to take off.

Read more: http://techland.time.com/2012/12/04/top-10-tech-lists/#ixzz2HYn9bYZI

Google Music’s Free Scan and Match

coolambrose@gmail.com (Telecoms Rave) — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 08:35:00 +0000

Google Music, a useful service that no one’s using, has just made it easier to get started with a new scan and match feature for storing your music online. After hitting Europe last month, it’s available now to U.S. users as well.

Just like Apple’s iTunes Match and Amazon’s scan and match service, Google Music now compares your local music library with its own database of songs. When it finds a match, Google places its copy of that song in your online library, then it uploads any remaining songs that it can’t match. A lightweight piece of software called Music Manager handles all the syncing.

Once your songs are stored in Google Music, they’re available for streaming at 320 kbps through play.google.com/music, and through the Google Play Music app for Android. Unofficial apps are also available for iOS (I’m partial to gMusic) and Windows Phone (try Gooroovster).

The big difference between Google and its competitors is that Google doesn’t charge for the service, so you can scan and store up to 20,000 songs online without paying yearly dues...Continue reading....

Targus Touch Pen Enables Touch Input on Non-Touchscreen Laptops

coolambrose@gmail.com (Telecoms Rave) — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 08:30:00 +0000

With the Touch Pen for Windows 8, Targus has found a way to welcome old laptops to the touchscreen party.

The pen enables touch input on Windows 8 laptops that don’t have touchscreens. Users must clip a small receiver to the side of the laptop, then perform a one-time calibration to tell the device where the edges of the screen are located. After that, the pen can be used like a finger for tapping, scrolling or drawing on the screen.

The pen itself has a soft, almost brush-like bristle that’s designed not to harm the laptop’s display, and it can attach to a magnet on the receiver for storage when it’s not in use. It supports screen sizes up to 17 inches....Continue reading.....

MTN Uganda announces LTE roll-out plans

coolambrose@gmail.com (Telecoms Rave) — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 08:21:00 +0000

The roll out of LTE in Africa continues apace as MTN announces that it will be launching a network in Uganda in 2013. The subsidiary of the South African network has announced plans to upgrade its network to offer speeds of up to 100Mbps and said it would be investing $70m in network infrastructure during 2013, following on from the $80m it said it spent in 2012.
MTN Uganda said that over the past two year it has introduce HSPA+, enhanced its core network and extended its fibre network by laying more than 2,800km of optical fibre, while builing regional switching centres across the country. The company said that this has brought internet to one million of its citizens for the first time.....Continue reading......

Best Inventions of the Year 2012

coolambrose@gmail.com (Telecoms Rave) — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 12:07:00 +0000

Self-inflating tires

As soon as the pressure in these Goodyear tires (which don’t have an official retail price yet) gets too low, they know it. An internal pressure regulator opens to allow air to flow into a pumping tube, and as the wheel turns, the flattened part helps squeeze air from the tube through an inlet valve into the tire. Once the air pressure hits an optimal level, the regulator closes—all without the driver’s realizing anything was wrong........Read more

Best Inventions of the Year 2012

coolambrose@gmail.com (Telecoms Rave) — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 12:00:00 +0000

5 Things to Expect from Intel This Year

coolambrose@gmail.com (Telecoms Rave) — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 10:43:00 +0000

Intel made a smattering of announcements at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Monday. Aside from the never-ending march toward thinner, faster and lighter computers, here are five main things to expect from the company throughout the rest of the year.

Expect Cheap Touching (and Lots of It)

Kirk Skaugen, vice president and general manager of the PC Client Group at Intel, claims that touchscreen Ultrabooks will get down to a starting price of around $599 by the end of the year. What’s more, Intel is making it a requirement that any Ultrabook using one of the company’s upcoming fourth-generation Core processors must have a touchscreen. Basically, if you buy an Ultrabook sometime later in the year, it’ll have a touchscreen.

Expect to Be Able to Leave Your Charger at Home

Intel’s Ultrabook reference design that it’s showing off to hardware partners sports a 13-hour battery life with a screen that pops away from the keyboard to become a 1.9-pound, 0.40-inch tablet with 10 hours of battery life. Skaugen says this jump represents the largest increase in battery life in the company’s history. Hardware similar to this reference design should cost between $799 and $899 when it launches later this year.......Read more