·         Wireless Related

Qualcomm Unveils LTE Plans for India

http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=189260

Qualcomm shook up the mobile broadband market today with plans to bid for 2.3GHz spectrum in the upcoming auction in India. If successful, the company plans to introduce TD-LTE technology into the Indian market with the help of local network operator partners. The move is interesting on many levels if Qualcomm is successful, though there are many hurdles for the company to leap before it can achieve its aims. The main potential impact of this move is that it could help create a global market for TD-LTE technology, which, currently, has found significant support only in China -- China Mobile, specifically.

AirWalk Preps LTE Picocell Proto for CTIA

http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=189181

AirWalk Communications Inc. is readying a prototype LTE picocell to show off at the CTIA show in Las Vegas next week, which the company’s head believes is the first of its kind to use the new mobile broadband technology. According to AirWalk CEO Serge Pequeux, the unit will be a “proof-of-concept,” built using an LTE chipset from Mindspeed Technologies and software from Aricent Inc. Pequeux expects that a production model will be released sometime in the first half of 2011.

Vodafone Loses Its Way

http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=189114

Vodafone Group has done a quick U-turn on offering its own navigation services as it confirmed reports that it plans to close its Wayfinder Systems AB subsidiary, based in Malmo, Sweden. Vodafone splashed out SEK239 million (US$33 million) to buy Wayfinder in December 2008 in a bid to offer its own maps, location-based services, and turn-by-turn voice directions to mobile devices. That may have been a good idea at the time, but the business case for charging consumers for navigation and location-based services has been effectively destroyed by the likes of Google and Nokia, which offer navigation services for free on certain devices.

FCC Proposes 300MHz More Spectrum by 2015

http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=189237

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) wants to free up 500MHz of spectrum for wireless services in the next 10 years to address the threat of a looming spectrum crunch with suggested auctions for 300MHz of bandwidth by 2015, and the recommendation of opening a new nationwide band by 2020.

AlcaLu Bolsters LTE Core Strategy

http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=189317

Alcatel-Lucent is making its move on the Long Term Evolution (LTE) evolved packet core (EPC), today announcing its full contingent of products and filling some gaps left by last year's announcement. It was about 12 months ago that Alcatel-Lucent said its 7750 Service Router line would be at the heart of its EPC offering, and that the other pieces would be filled by AlcaLu-designed boxes. Today's EPC announcement spells out some of those other boxes and also emphasizes that the whole kaboodle supports 2G and 3G -- a bit of reassurance to operators that see LTE as an opportunity to converge multiple mobile core networks.

Ericsson In Talks To Buy LG Nortel Stake

http://www.informationweek.com/news/services/voice/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=224000110&subSection=News

Ericsson is reported to be poised to acquire another piece of the once-mighty Nortel Networks. According to South Korean media reports, Ericsson and South Korea's LG are preparing to announce that Ericsson is picking up Nortel's former stake in LG-Nortel. Ericsson has already acquired Nortel's most valuable unit -- its CDMA/LTE operation -- for $1.13 billion, so the Swedish company has some familiarity and links with LG-Nortel.

·         Terminal Related

Windows Phone 7 Lacks Flash Support

http://www.informationweek.com/news/windows/microsoft_news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=224000112&subSection=News

Microsoft's new Windows Phone 7 Series won't support two features that are familiar to most computer users—at least not out of the gate. The first iteration of the mobile device platform will not run Adobe's Flash multimedia Web graphics software, nor will it allow users to perform simple cut-and-paste procedures on applications and messages. Microsoft has indicated that it did not feel it worth delaying the launch of Windows Phone 7 to include features it doesn't believe are deal breakers. The company is hoping to get Windows Phone 7 devices into the market in time for the 2010 holiday season.

Amazon Launches Kindle For Mac

http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/open_source/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=224000099&subSection=News

Amazon on Thursday introduced a version of its digital book reading software for the Apple Mac. Available for free on Amazon, the Kindle for Mac application lets people buy, read, and organize electronic books purchased from Amazon through the retailer's Kindle Store. Amazon offers more than 450,000 books, including 102 of the 111 New York Times bestsellers.

GPS-enabled GSM/WCMDA handset shipments jumped 92% in 2009

http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=U4DJ3PQEZB2MXQE1GHRSKH4ATMY32JVN?articleID=224000176

Global shipments of GPS-enabled GSM/WCDMA handsets increased 92 percent in 2009 to 150 million units, according to analysis firm Berg Insight. With growth set to continue at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 38.7 percent, shipments are forecasted to reach 770 million units in 2014. Adoption of GPS technology in mobile phones started in the smartphone segment where it is now essentially a standard feature on all new models. Berg Insight now anticipates GPS penetration in low-cost smartphones about to enter the market. GPS will also become more common in mid-range feature phone models during 2010. Starting in 2011, users can also expect gradual improvements in location performance in handsets.

·         Mobile Internet Related

Google, Intel, Sony Plan Android TV Platform

http://www.informationweek.com/news/hardware/unix_linux/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=224000104&subSection=News

Google, Intel, and Sony have reportedly joined forces to develop a content platform for television called Google TV. According to The New York Times, the three companies are collaborating on the design of set-top boxes and Internet-ready TVs that will make Internet content easily available to consumers in their living rooms.

PayPal Offers iPhone Transactions

http://www.informationweek.com/news/hardware/mac/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=223900185&subSection=News

PayPay has unveiled a new version of its iPhone application that lets people transfer money by "bumping" two of the Apple smartphones. The Bump feature in Version 2.0 of the Send Money app can move funds quickly between PayPal accounts by simply putting two iPhones together. The new application also includes a split check feature that lets users divide and quickly reimburse each other for the cost of a meal, including tax and tip, for up to 20 people.

·         Broadband

DT Revamp Puts FTTH in Focus

http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=189297

Deutsche Telekom unveiled a new strategy that further reinforced its focus on mobile data, high-speed broadband, and IT services, and which, it hopes, will enable it to double revenue from five specific growth areas by 2015. The European giant also unveiled plans to add fiber access to its current DSL-based fixed broadband access strategy. The new strategy, which DT says will turn it from a telco into a "telco plus," involves a sustained push to boost revenues from Mobile Internet, the Connected Home (double and triple play), Non-Access Business (online services including app stores and Web hosting), IT Services (including cloud services from its T-Systems International GmbH division), and Intelligent Network Solutions.