I like positive reports, don’t you? It’s nice when you can read a report which says, via big numbers, that something is going to be very successful. I just happen to have one of those reports right here! ABI Research says that as Mobile TV services expand over the next 5 years, the total number of subs will rise to 462 million - now that’s a big number!

Some other notable takeaway titbits from the research are:

• Asia-Pac to be the overall leading in adoption of mobile video services
• China and India will contribute to the total due to population mass
• South Korea and Japan will lead, with some countries in Western Europe, and the USA too

Of course these juicy morsels are part of a larger (paid-for) report - but it’s nice to have re-inforced that Mobile TV is gonna do so well

http://www.intomobile.com/2008/01/28/mobile-tv-subscribers-to-reach-462-million-by-2012.html

Imagine walking down the street and as your mobile phone rings, the name of the caller suddenly appears floating in the air in front of you. That is one of the possibilities offered by a new contact lens which incorporates electronic circuits which can create a type of heads-up display, right within the eyeball. Cellular News reports.

“Engineers at the University of Washington have for the first time used manufacturing techniques at microscopic scales to combine a flexible, biologically safe contact lens with an imprinted electronic circuit and lights.

There are many possible uses for virtual displays. Drivers or pilots could see a vehicle’s speed projected onto the windshield. Video-game companies could use the contact lenses to completely immerse players in a virtual world without restricting their range of motion. And for communications, people on the go could surf the Internet on a midair virtual display screen that only they would be able to see.”

textually.org

Nokia reigns as the world’s top cell phone maker, boasting a global market share of nearly 40% — more than twice that of No. 2 Motorola. (NYSE:MEU) (NYSE:MOT)

But the Finnish company has had a tougher time in the U.S., where it ranks No. 4, according to figures from research firm Gartner.

Nokia aims to boost its U.S. presence with a two-pronged effort to cement a closer relationship with U.S. carriers and launch its popular N95 handset in the U.S. market.

The $700 phone — part of a line of Nokia (NYSE:NOK) cell phones known as the N Series — has received positive reviews and is considered one of the best all-around multimedia cell phones on the market. Nokia is aggressively promoting the phone as it expands partnerships with retailers.

William Plummer, Nokia’s vice president of sales and channel management for multimedia in North America, spoke with IBD about the company’s U.S. strategy.

Read more »

In 2010 your mobile phone may be powered by water. Digital Chosunibo reports.

“Samsung Electro-Mechanics announced Thursday that it has developed a micro-fuel cell and hydrogen generator that runs on H20.

“When the handset is turned on, metal and water in the phone react to produce hydrogen gas,” explained Oh Yong-soo, vice president of Samsung Electro-Mechanics’ research center. “The gas is then supplied to the fuel cell where it reacts with oxygen in the air to generate power.” Other fuel cells need methanol to produce hydrogen, while Samsung’s needs only water.

Since the micro-fuel cell can generate up to three watts of electricity, it could be used in mobile devices, the company said. The new fuel cell could power a handset for 10 hours, twice as long as rechargeable batteries.”

textually.org

NXP Semiconductors today announced that Hi-Tech Wealth (HTW) has selected its Nexperia Cellular System Solution 5110 for the world’s first commercial solar-powered mobile phone, S116. Designed in by Laucent Technology, NXP’s system solution optimizes solar charging by enabling ultra-low power consumption for industry-leading standby and talk times in the S116, which went into mass production in July this year.

The novel solar phone allows users to recharge its battery in real-time, leveraging any light source, even candlelight according to the company.

“Solar-powered design signals a revolutionary innovation in the wireless multimedia industry by providing a consistent and stable power supply for mobile phones,” said Dr. Boyu Zhang, President of Hi-Tech Wealth. “The cellphone, which delivers eco-friendly solar energy technology, has changed the traditional concept that handsets have to rely on AC charging and a fixed power mode. The eco-friendly design is also a great contribution to meet worldwide demand for ‘Green’ products and services.”

slashphone.com

I like having WiFi on my smartphone, because it allows me to check my email and surf the web without having to worry about data charges. The problem is that the connection process can sometimes be quite cumbersome. Nokia has teamed up with Devicescape to address this issue, integrating software in their E and N series phones that will “log in automatically to Wi-Fi hotspots.”

Up until now, the connection to a hotspot has been somewhat of a manual process. You’d have to go into the wireless manager, get it to seek out a connection and then wait for the pairing to complete. With this new software, the entire process is automated, requiring little to no input on your part. This is because your username and password has already been stored on Devicescape’s site.

In the future, Devicescape hopes to include this software in other devices — like WiFi MP3 players — that may lack a keyboard altogether, making it impossible to enter said passwords.

mobilemag.com

The South Korean mobile phone manufacturing giant is gearing up to do what no other manufacturer has done before - make OLED display panels with WVGA resolutions. Until now, active matrix OLED displays were limited to a 240 x 320 pixel resolution. But, with PenTile RGB technologies from partner Clairvoyante, Samsung SDI has announced that they will be producing the world’s first VGA-resolution OLED display in widescreen format.

Read more »

Broadcom announced sampling of a low power multimedia processor that enables a high definition (HD) video camcorder and playback in cell phones and portable media players. The Broadcom VideoCore III multimedia processor also supports an up to 12 megapixel digital camera and delivers high performance yet ultra-low power 3D graphics for a world-class gaming experience.

“Mobile handsets with compelling multimedia features are capturing the imagination of consumers and phone developers alike, driving the industry to push the limits of what a handset can do,” said Will Strauss, Principal Analyst from Forward Concepts. “Enabling HD quality video without draining the battery will provide another leap forward for mobile devices, taking high definition multimedia from novelty to must-have feature.”

Next generation cell phones based on VideoCore III technology will offer a quantum improvement in mobile audio, video, imaging, navigation and gaming experiences — all with similar battery life and size of today’s compact multimedia handsets.

Read more »

CEATEC Japan 2007 uncovered this really neat phone prototype that featured an electronic-ink based alphanumeric keys which is capable of changing the display on the key when appropriate. Sounds like the standard keypad will evolve into this sometime down the road. Hopefully there will be some sort of tactile feedback so that you know what you’re pressing. One thing’s for sure though - this will definitely be more power efficient than dual screen touchscreen-enabled smartphones that are flooding the market these days.

 ubergizmo.com

According to the BBC an Apple software update is disabling iPhones that have been unlocked by owners who wanted to choose which mobile network to use.

“Earlier this week Apple issued a statement in which it said many of the unauthorised iPhone unlocking programs caused “irreparable damage” to the device’s software.

Thousands of iPhone owners hacked their expensive gadget in order to unlock it for use with other mobile carriers and to run a host of unsupported programs.

The company said this would “likely result in the modified iPhone becoming permanently inoperable when a future Apple-supplied iPhone software update is installed”.

That warning has now proved correct as many owners are reporting their phones no longer work following installation of the update. ”

Here’s a quick rundown of new features in the iPhone v1.1.1 update:

• iTunes Wi-Fi music store
• Louder speakerphone and receiver volume
• Home button double-click shortcut to phone favorites or music controls
• Space bar double-tap shortcut to intelligently insert period and space
• Mail attachments are viewable in portrait and landscape
• Stocks and cities in Stocks and Weather can be re-ordered
• Apple Bluetooth Headset battery status in the Status Bar
• Support for TV Out
• Preference to turn off EDGE/GPRS when roaming internationally
• New passcode lock time intervals
• Adjustable alert volume

Again, if you’ve unlocked your iPhone for use on non-AT&T networks, DO NOT UPDATE. It will brick your iPhone.

textually.org