Wireless Asia articles from June 2008

Wireless Asia archives from June 2008

Where's my smart dust?(THE SIGNAL)
June 1, 2008... Some of my favorite blogs these days are the ones that track the progress of technology that's been promised to us in science fiction. Blog names like Where's My Jet Pack tell you all you need to know about the site's viewpoint--and it's one...

Deal of the century: can sprint/clearwire save Wimax?(NEWS ANALYSIS)
June 1, 2008... Wimax has continued to make inroads in the Asia-Pacific region, with planned launches announced in the Philippines and elsewhere, but it may be the US that makes or breaks the mobile Wimax business case, based on the buzz over last month's news...

UWB under pressure as TI quits WiMedia.(NEWS ANALYSIS)
June 1, 2008... Things are not looking particularly good for the ultra-wideband (UWB) technology, which saw a significant defection from the ranks last month and a warning from an analyst firm that if the technology is going to break big, it's now or never....

Muni Wi-Fi dead in Sydney, dying elsewhere.(NEWS ANALYSIS)
June 1, 2008... The concept of municipal Wi-Fi has been taking a pounding in recent months as operators and governments have shut off existing networks or abandoned plans to build them. Last month in Australia, Minister of Commerce Eric Roozendaal...

Nortel shuns LTE patent pool.(NEWS ANALYSIS)
June 1, 2008... As LTE vendors attempt to head off the initial high cost of post-3G devices by creating patent pools, some of the industry's biggest patent owners have yet to throw their weight behind any pool. And while most are currently uncommitted,...

Japanese PHS operator Willcom signs a deal with Wavesat to accelerate the development, adoption and deployment of XG-PHS.(SHORT BURSTS)
June 1, 2008... Japanese PHS operator Willcom signs a deal with Wavesat to accelerate the development, adoption and deployment of XG-PHS (a next-gen OFDMA-based version of PHS).

Intel Capital invests $15.4 million in Malaysia's Green Packet, whose subsidiary Packet One Networks is rolling out Wimax.(SHORT BURSTS)
June 1, 2008... Intel Capital invests $15.4 million in Malaysia's Green Packet, whose subsidiary Packet One Networks is rolling out Wimax. The deal gives Intel Capital a 6.32% stake in Green Packet.

UKInterl.(SHORT BURSTS)
June 1, 2008... UKIntel and the government of Taiwan sign an agreement aimed at speeding up the development of Wimax in Taiwan and ensuring better Wimax compatibility among gear developers, although details won't be finalized until year-end.

Indian Railways.(SHORT BURSTS)
June 1, 2008... Indian Railways says it has plans to launch on-board Wi-Fi for its trains with backhaul via a VSAT hub system being installed for other applications.

Motorola is working with AIS to conduct mobile Wimax trials.(SHORT BURSTS)
June 1, 2008... Motorola is working with AIS to conduct mobile Wimax trials that will put an emphasis on apps performance.

SK Telecom invests $3 million in wireless USB chipset vendor Alereon.(SHORT BURSTS)
June 1, 2008... SK Telecom invests $3 million in wireless USB chipset vendor Alereon, SKT is Alereon's second Korean investor after Samsung Ventures.

Telstra kicks off a new initiative with National Australia Bank (NAB) to connect ATM machines to its 3G network in temporary locations.(SHORT BURSTS)
June 1, 2008... Telstra kicks off a new initiative with National Australia Bank (NAB) to connect ATM machines to its 3G network in temporary locations, i.e. special events like the Formula One Grand Prix.

George Schmitt & Co wins a contract for RFID-enabled baggage handling at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA).(SHORT BURSTS)
June 1, 2008... George Schmitt & Co wins a contract for RFID-enabled baggage handling at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) using tags from Alien Technology.

Ruckus Wireless sues Netgear for alleged patent infringement over technology.(SHORT BURSTS)
June 1, 2008... Ruckus Wireless sues Netgear for alleged patent infringement over technology using antenna arrays to form and direct Wi-Fi signals over the best path at any given time.

Ember partners with Saflock to ZigBee-enable their wireless in-room systems around the world.(SHORT BURSTS)
June 1, 2008... Ember partners with Saflock to ZigBee-enable their wireless in-room systems around the world, enabling apps like reporting ajar guest room doors, remote key management and real-time staff location.

Qualcomm.(SHORT BURSTS)
June 1, 2008... Qualcomm acquires a stake in ip.access, which supplies in-building coverage solutions including picocells and femtocells, for an undisclosed amount.

Bluetooth SIG.(SHORT BURSTS)
June 1, 2008... The Bluetooth SIG targets SMBs with a new incentive program that offers a one-time discount on qualification related fees.

Femto Forum.(SHORT BURSTS)
June 1, 2008... The Femto Forum announces progress on an interoperability standard for the so-called Fa interface between femtocell access points and femto gateways, with specific modules defined for each radio technology to comply with existing standards.

Femtocell market ripe for Cisco and the ODMs: the future of femtocells may not lie in the hands of traditional BTS vendors, but ODMs and IP-focused companies like Cisco Systems.(RESEARCH NOTE)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The budding femtocell market has so far been dominated by specialist start-ups, but as the trials and contracts from major operators pile up, the baton will pass to the major vendors that can deliver the volumes and...

MID-life crisis: how new device form factors are shaking up wireless broadband: new form factors like MIDs are shaping up as the new face of wireless broadband, but assuming they get the tech right and build up an OEM/ODM ecosystem, the next question is whether Wimax can capitalize on the MID craze--especially now that 3G is embeddable.
June 1, 2008... As wireless broadband continues to manliest in various forms--and as operators feel around in the dark for a killer business case--file evidence is mounting that the business case is going to be defined in no small part by the devices...

High-tech hospital: how Macau's Kiang Wu Hospital is leveraging Wi-Fi, RFID and IP technology to put together a new state-of-the-art specialist medical center.(VERTICAL FOCUS)
June 1, 2008... The potential benefits of wireless technology applied to healthcare are fairly well understood, from wireless access to medical data and patient IDs with smartcard chips to equipment tracking and remote diagnosis. In many hospitals, these...

M2M: It's a platform play: software players like Microsoft and Google are targeting the M2M space as if it's just another data business. It's not--doing M2M properly (and cost-effectively) requires a full-on end-to-end platform.(TECH SPOTLIGHT)
June 1, 2008... Microsoft and Google recently announced their Health-Vault and GoogleHealth offerings as they vie for medical M2M ownership. What these offerings fail to acknowledge is the need for highly optimized, end-to-end platforms, including...

Spot the pedestrian: whether cars of the future are automated or not, GPS technology can be harnessed to alert drivers to pedestrians in their path. Here's the proof-of-concept prototype.(TECH CLOSE-UP)
June 1, 2008... The driver of the future may enter an automated roadway and turn the controls over to system automation. Under this scenario, a technologically based pedestrian detection and tracking system will be essential if pedestrians are to share the...

Tracking tsunamis by GPS: four years after the tragic Indian Ocean tsunami, the search is still on for an effective global early warning system. One possible solution: using GPS to measure changes in the ionosphere caused by a tsunami.(TECH FOCUS)
June 1, 2008... In the aftermath of the Boxing Day tsunami in 2004, an important effort is underway to interconnect seismic networks and to provide early alarms quantifying the level of tsunami risk within 15 minutes of an earthquake. However, in the open...

Wireless monitoring for green systems.(WIRELESS GEAR)
June 1, 2008... Onset Computer's HOBO U30 Wi-Fi remote monitoring system provides web-based real-time monitoring of energy and environmental data via wireless. The HOBO U30/Wi-Fi allows access to green roofs, solar power systems, wind turbines, and other...

Ultra-small RF amplifier.(WIRELESS GEAR)
June 1, 2008... With miniature 0402 package dimensions and no wirebonds, Avago Technologies' VMMK-2x03 amplifiers experience almost no signal loss and minimal parasitics, the company said. The VMMK-2x03 leverages on Avago's recently announced WaferCap...

RFID reader/writer adds security features.(WIRELESS GEAR)
June 1, 2008... Omron's V750 series UHF RFID reader/ writer is compatible with the Secure RFID Protocol. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The protocol provides enhanced security functions including communication distance control (which restricts the...

90nm chip for GPS devices.(WIRELESS GEAR)
June 1, 2008... SigmaTel's STMP3738 processor is designed for portable GPS devices. The integrated systemon-chip (SoC) eliminates up to 12 previously-discrete ICs typically found in personal navigation devices or PNDs, according to SigmaTel. Device...

Bluetooth module for in-car systems.(WIRELESS GEAR)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] CSR's RoadTunes is a Bluetooth design interoperable with personal navigation devices (PNI)s) and in-car systems. RoadTunes uses CSR's BlueCore5-Multimedia silicon and features a low-power RISC and DSP processor....

Wave 2-ready 4G access points.(WIRELESS GEAR)
June 1, 2008... Motorola's wi4 Wimax access points includes the new 802.16e Wave 2-ready WAP 450, which uses the recently announced 4G common broadband base control unit. The WAP 450 has smaller common equipment electronics and a more powerful tower-top...

GPS-enabled pet locator.(WIRELESS GEAR)
June 1, 2008... Weighing in at 2.5 ounces, Zoombak's Advanced GPS Dog Locator features a compact, water-resistant design and a long-life rechargeable battery. Combining GPS with cellular communications, the device enables users to create custom safety...

Compact Wimax base station.(WIRELESS GEAR)
June 1, 2008... WiNetworks' Win7200 pico base station is meant for optimizing indoor and outdoor Wimax coverage. The pico base station, part of the Win-Max family of products, is available in the 2.X GHz and 3.X GHz frequency range. The Win7200 is a...

New chipset touts wireless USB speeds.(WIRELESS GEAR)
June 1, 2008... Alereon's new wireless USB chipset integrates the AL5350 baseband processor with the AL5100 RF transceiver. The new chipset features both a USB and PCI Express interface designed for wireless USB applications, docking stations, wireless...

Wireless CPU supports cellular, GPS.(WIRELESS GEAR)
June 1, 2008... Wavecom's Q52 Omni Wireless CPU combines cellular, satellite and GPS technology (select models) on a single device. The Q52 Omni offers enhanced integration of these multiple technologies on a single processor, enabling cost savings over...

Where's my UWB?(ANALYST VIEW)
June 1, 2008... The wireless industry has a reputation for over-promising and under-delivering, and there's a healthy list of contenders wing for the crown of most disappointing technology. Sadly, it looks like ultra-wide band may be about to join these ranks....

The smartcard of the future ... is you.(WIRELESS HORIZON)
June 1, 2008... For some time now, NTT has been exploring technologies in the hopes of using the human body as a transport network. In late April, the telco finally released its first "human area network" product: "Firmo", a card-sized transmitter that fits in...

Cam-phones under the microscope.(WIRELESS HORIZON)
June 1, 2008... A research team at the University of California, Berkeley, has developed an attachment that turns a camera phone into a microscope, reports The Economist. The CellScope, which snaps directly onto the phone, uses commercially available...

Mars needs mobile heart monitors.(WIRELESS HORIZON)
June 1, 2008... This month's Best Repurposed Technology Award goes to Austria-based Telovital, which sells a mobile device called "clue" that allows medical specialists to remotely monitor the heart conditions of their patients. The device, which is...

RFID: you gotta hack it to secure it.(WIRELESS GEAR)
June 1, 2008... German security researchers Lukas Grunwald and Boris Wolf have founded a company called NeoCatena and are developing an RFID security tool to protect against RFID fraud and attacks. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The device, RF-Wall, sits...