Stories by Mikael Ricknäs

Group wants to kick start embedded mobile market

Backed by Huawei Technologies and operators including Telefónica and Vodafone, the GSM Association (GSMA) has launched the Embedded Mobile initiative, aiming to bring down prices of 3G modules that can be embedded in cars, cameras, health monitoring devices and other machines by developing common standards and platforms.

GSM group: Phones need NFC for mobile payments

Phone manufacturers must build NFC (Near Field Communications) functionality into mobile handsets in order to speed adoption of mobile payment systems, the GSM Association said Tuesday.

Apple response on Norwegian iTunes case fails to impress

Apple has responded to the Norwegian Consumer Ombudsman's plan to bring an iTunes case before the country's Market Council, but Apple's answer hasn't impressed the official. He now expects the case to go before the council in March or April next year.

Worldwide broadband prices continue to drop

Broadband subscribers all over the world are getting more for their money. The cost for cable, fiber and DSL (digital subscriber line) subscriptions are all dropping, and at the same time speeds are increasing, according to market research company Point Topic.

Volantis integrates mobile phones and web services

Companies running mobile web sites can integrate content from Google Docs, Picasa or Flickr to create mobile mashups adapted for any phone with a browser using updated software from Volantis Systems, the company said on Wednesday.

Alcatel-Lucent posts loss

Alcatel-Lucent posted a loss yet again, the reported net loss for the third quarter was reported at 40 million Euros US$52.64 million), as sales to carriers dropped, it reported on Thursday. Although the loss is smaller than a year ago, when the company reported a net loss at €345 million.

Nokia announces plans for gaming platform

Nokia continues to push its gaming platform N-Gage, announcing new games at the Nokia Games Summit in Rome on Wednesday. More games and mobile phones with embedded support for the platform are needed for the N-Gage to become a success, according to analysts.

Big changes ahead for the Internet, says Vint Cerf

The Internet will get support for IPv6, a more secure domain name system and international characters, during the next couple of years, according to Vint Cerf, vice president and chief Internet evangelist at Google.

Opera adds widgets to mobile browser beta

Opera has added support for widgets to the latest beta release of its Mobile 9.5 browser. The release marks the second Opera Mobile 9.5 beta for Windows Mobile and the first-ever beta for UIQ-based phones, it announced on Monday.

Vodafone give network neutrality a thumbs down

Vodafone doesn't believe network neutrality will work as capacity demands increase, forcing operators to build out faster networks. Instead, a second network is needed, according to David Leftley, head of technology economics at Vodafone Group R&D.

Quantenna hopes chips will improve home Wi-Fi

Startup Quantenna Communications on Tuesday unveiled chips that it hopes Wi-Fi equipment vendors will use to improve the performance of wireless home networking products over the next year.

Mobile industry split over UMA versus femtocells

As mobile data traffic continues to increase, with more generated by home users, operators are under pressure to adopt either UMA (Unlicensed Mobile Access) or femtocells, both of which have a lot going for them, according to their respective proponents.

Ericsson attaches blades for wind power to base station

Ericsson has equipped its environmentally friendly radio base station site concept Tower Tube with built-in support for wind power, in a bid to help operators go green and expand mobile networks to where electricity isn't available, it announced on Thursday.

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