Mobile Insight Vol: 8 Issue 335 September 18th 2006
Rok distracts with FreeBe TV offer
The
Rok group appears to have underestimated the complexities of Bluetooth when launching its Rok
Viper internet telephony service (see j).
So to divert attention, Rok has just announced what it claims is the world's first free mobile TV service in the US and in the UK.
Known as FreeBe TV it will be available via a link on Rok TV site and claims compatibility with 14 major mobile handsets.
Despite intense efforts, Mobile Insight just hasn't been able to get the Bluetooth based Viper service to work – in sharp contrast with the AQL Nokia service which definitely works over WiFi.
After much badgering from
Mobile Insight, Rok has supplied a list of Bluetooth devices
which should work with Viper . The list of supported Bluetooth device includes those running protocol stacks from Widcomm and BlueSoleil (v2.3 or higher) plus those Bluetooth devices taking advantage of the Bluetooth stack in Windows XP (Service Pack 2).
In terms of compatible handsets, in theory Viper is able to run on any handset running Symbian 3.0 release 2 but Rok currently only caters for a handful of Nokia handsets on its Web/WAP site.
Downloading the relevant Viper app to the handset is relatively simple providing you've got GPRS sorted out on the handset. All you do is visit the WAP site http://wap.rokviper.com.
Potential users then need to register their mobile phone number and obtain an associated PIN number supplied from Rok
via email. Rok seems to have ignored Bluetooth solutions based around Toshiba's Bluetooth protocol stack, for example.
Even purchasing a Bluetooth dongle for a mere £9 which came with the BlueSoleil stack (produced by IVT) didn't cure our problems. We also note that the Rok Viper web site has been temporarily closed for 'maintenance'.
Not one to miss a trick, however, Rok has added a user-generated video channel called 'You-made-it' to its FreeBe
TV offering. It would be nice to actually get Viper running, of course.
Leading Chinese
telecoms company, ZTE, has
announced a deal to work
alongside the UK's BT to produce
the world's first 3G handset
supporting DAB-IP. This standard
for mobile TV has already won
backing from Virgin Mobile in
the UK. Dominic Strowbridge, marketing director for BT Movio – which created DAB-IP – revealed that the true motivation behind working with ZTE
is that the deal should help
promote this TV technology in
the world's largest mobile phone
market – China. ZTE's announcement comes just weeks before Movio makes it global debut when Virgin Mobile offers it to the public using a 2.5G (GPRS) handset called the Lobster and reputedly made by Taiwanese manufacturer, HTC.
Virgin will start offering the service from October 1st. The key benefit to Movio is that it provides access to the UK's premium TV channels including BBC1.
Another advantage that Movio enjoys is that it can be broadcast over standard DAB channels – such as Band 3 and the L band. So broadcasters can use their existing licenses and spectrum – whereas arch rival DVB-H requires starting from scratch.
DAB-IP has other strengths – such as the fact that its signal is encrypted which enables mobile operators to charge for the service. Except, of course, BBC1 which will always be free.
Another selling point for Movio is that ZTE handset owners will be able to
'roam' via 3G and still watching
the British TV programme they
want to see.
In launching
the Treo 750v, Palm came out with numerous claims to being first. This led to
the FT claiming that the 750v would be "the first wireless email device based on Windows Mobile 5.0 to be launched in Europe."
That honour went to Taiwan's HTC which has launched various Windows 5.0 devices including its recently announced S620 and P3600 models with the latter due to be available in Europe this month [September 2006].
So what went wrong? Well, no-one would doubt Palm's first 'first' claim. That the 750v is the first Treo to take advantage of Vodafone's 3G network.
Nor is there much doubt that the 750v will be made available first in Europe. Or that the 750v will be made available first to Vodafone customers.
What probably caused the confusion is Palm's claim that "the 750v brings the Palm experience on Microsoft's Windows Mobile 5.0 to Europe for the first time." What this actually means is that other Treos previously offered in Europe were based on Palm's original OS not Windows 5.0.
But the fact that the 750v features Microsoft's Messaging and Security Feature Pack (MSFP) for Windows 5.0 is not in doubt. MSFP supports Direct Push email but then, so does Vodafone Business Mail
- created by Visto and also in the Treo 750v.
Amongst several VoIP over mobile apps launched last week was AQL's trial service for
Nokia E Series handsets. This application now works more cleanly thanks to Mobile Insight.
The principle behind AQL's offering is quite simple. The E Series handsets feature built in support for WiFi (WLAN). So why not run VoIP calls across a WiFi connexion using SIP?
This has proved a relatively simple task for AQL which is a VoIP service
provider in the first instance. What it has done is to publicise a trial free
facility for owners of the relevant E series Nokia phones. Mobile Insight duly signed up by sending the word 'nokia' as a text message to 64446. In theory this provides the handset with all the settings it needs for its owner to start making VoIP calls.
However, AQL's software doesn't know the relevant parameters for the user's favourite hot spot. So this information has to be set manually before AQL's
software will work properly. Having made this change, Mobile Insight had
difficulty dialling from numbers stored in the handset's addressbook. It turned
out the problem lay with storing numbers in international format. Thanks to Mobile Insight's feedback, AQL has now adjusted its systems so that it will now recognise the international dialling format.
The service can potentially save a user a fortune. Instead of routing calls via the cellular network, in the home and the office these calls can be routed via an existing broadband connexion. AQL's pricing – which kicks in after the trial has concluded – makes VoIP
calls far cheaper than using a standard mobile phone network. It costs eight
pence per minute to call a mobile phone or one penny per minute to call a land
line.
Psion is struggling with the rump of its business, Psion Teklogix. It's experiencing problems with its supply chain and consequently increasingly outsourcing production to China.
The company is also seeking to make two new managerial appointments: - searching for a replacement for CEO Alistair Crawford and seeking a new COO for its Toronto operations.
The production problems have caused its Q1-Q2 2006 profits to nosedive from £7.3 million last year to £865,000. This is despite the fact that orders have risen by 18 per cent and reached record levels in June.
The company blames recent EU legislation which cuts the amount of metal that can be used in electronic products for a 42 per cent increase in development costs.
As one observer commented, Telogix's problems would be understandable if the company was a new startup but Psion has been in the handheld business for over ten years.
Sony Ericsson is heavily marketing the K800i
for the capabilities of its camera, so let's
start there. It has 3.2 mega pixels, with flash
and red eye reduction, auto focus, plus zoom
that includes 16x digital zoom. And, of course,
the 'cyber shot' mode, in which it automatically
takes 9 shots in rapid succession and lets you
choose the best. Matched with a 240x320 pixel
TFT screen, this undoubtedly makes for a fine
digital still camera. The camera is activated by
sliding the slightly strangely protruding lens
cover on the rear of the phone. Other innovations with the K800i are two
custom keys: one for a personalised home screen
and another for mobile Internet access. Useful,
but increases the need to operate the phone with
finger nails rather than tips.
The network home page and downloads can also be
reached from top-level menus options. This
squeezes rather a lot of the options into a
Settings menu, but the clever use of tabs to
sub-divide options keeps everything accessible.
In keeping with other Sony Ericsson models
such as the Walkman phones (W700/800 series)
there's an MP3 player and FM radio, plus
extendable lists for games and downloads. Video calls make use of a separate camera on
the front of the phone by default, along with
alternative view layouts including split screen.
The camera choice can be flipped to use the main
camera but means you lose sight either of what
you're shooting or the caller face. Compared to
connecting a data call via GPRS though, the
video connection is made automatically and
rapidly, as with mobile Internet access. The web browser uses a very small default
font size for these old eyes. Zoom to around 140
per cent though and you get fonts comparable
with earlier models, with this size
automatically retained thereafter, although with
the obvious reduction in visible content. This phone comes without removable Sony
memory card as standard - surely a money spinner
for someone, as an entry level card seems to be
a 1GB card for around £50? And the format,
Sony's Memory Stick Micro (M2), is so small
you'd need tweezers to handle it if it got any
smaller. The Sony Ericsson Cybershot is currently
available in the UK on most networks priced from
free depending on contract.
Vodafone has decided to become a BVNO (Broadband Virtual Network Operator)
thanks to a tie up in the UK with BT Wholesale. According to Vodafone this deal "enables Vodafone's customers to benefit from bundled packages of mobile and broadband services nationwide, due to BT's unique footprint in the UK."
It will be interesting to see if Vodafone decides it also needs to offer a fixed
line telephony option. There's no chance of Vodafone offering this service for free
unless it builds the cost into new mobile contracts.
www.vodafone.co.uk
At the recent ZTE launch, Frank Bai, general manager for ZTE UK, wouldn't reveal
just whose chips are going to be inside the 3G TV phone. He wouldn't say whether
or not Qualcomm is heavily involved, for example.
www.zte.com.cn
In Site of the Week (by Tony Dennis)
This week Daily Telegraph
- Alex
Media companies are finally getting the hang of the mobile Internet. British
national newspaper, The Daily Telegraph, is offering its humorous carton, Alex,
to all those with a WAP phone. More to the point, the site even has an advert.
The site's creator is Graphico. You can get the cartoons by texting Alex
to 82088. Luckily the Telegraph Web site has a page which explains how you can
pay for things on the WAP site. It includes instructions for how to pay via
Paypal and Bango. Apparently this works for subscribers on international GSM
networks who can't pay via reverse premium rate SMS.
