Months of speculation have fueled the announcement by Google this week of a new cell phone system that offers not a new device, but a free platform that makes a mobile device operate more like a personal computer. Google is taking several revolutionary steps to make this product a reality, including allowing dozens of companies to have access to its source code and design the system. It's also inviting third parties to design add-ons that allow video playback, mp3 capabilities, and syncronization code to allow whatever device the system is operating on to automatically sync with computer calenders and address books.

This system can also run on the most ordinary of cellular devices, unlike current PDA systems that come on expensive and complicated machines. Until now, these third parties would have to design their products with the permission and compatability of each individual carrier; with this technology, Google will make that step obsolete. But unlike the numerous companies who have jumped on board this project in order to regain some of the customers they've lost in recent years (namely Sprint and T-Mobile), others like Microsoft seem to be welcoming the competition.

Labels: Wireless

Nokia is becoming the first mobile device vendor to ship smartphones with a default software application that allows its consumer electronics to easily connect to any Wi-Fi network in range. As these network proliferate throughout society with different "hot-spots," consumers are looking to connect with more than just their laptops. And with easy-connect software devices like the one being installed on this Nokia model, doing so is becoming much easier.

Hurdles have exisited for years between consumer electronics and Wi-Fi networks, mostly because of the requirement for a web browser to be able to log-in to the network. With software that handles this step instantly, users can access e-mail and chat with less of a hassle. Wireless carriers like T-Mobile and AT&T, who have already boomed in the hot-spot business, are certainly going to welcome this transition for their customers.

'Auto-Connect' App Links Nokia Users Smoothly to Wi-Fi Hotspots

Labels: Web Technologies, Wireless

WiMAX has seen a substantial amount of progression in the past few years, with many cities and towns witnessing the emergence of municipal WiMAX. However, many city governments are having trouble integrating business models with different service providers. The city of Chicago recently abandoned its municipal WiMAX efforts, with even the city government itself not willing to participate in the program. This has led many in the industry to sing the praises of Mobile WiMAX as an alternative.

WiMAX's licensed spectrum allows it to have greater indoor coverage at faster speeds, but it still faces challenges. Most laptops produced today are not compliant with WiMAX technology, leaving service providers to come up with pricing strategies for USB dongles and ExpressCards. This could be a crucial moment - with most municipal WiMAX systems on hold, if consumers can find a decent price for a city-wide internet access plan, it could be really attractive for those looking to check their email during a commute on a ferry or on an afternoon coffee break.

WiMAX backers positioning 801.62E as an alternative

Labels: Web Technologies, Wireless

With all of the recent talk of Google bidding on unused radio spectrum, and WiMax providers using frequencies in the microwave range, some businesses are now using light to transmit more information than any other wireless transmission method. Wireless optics, or free-space optics (FSO) uses invisible beams of light to create an optical bandwidth connection. These wireless optical connections could provide improved security and higher data-transfer rates than any existing wireless technology.

The technology could be the basis for robust networks in urban areas, and some businesses are already using FSO to connect nearby offices. The advantage of FSO is that it needs no physical infrastructure and could provide comparable speed connectivity to areas without any existing wiring. Wireless Optics could be the basis for networks in new urban areas and make the costly installation of underground fiber-optic cables completely unnecessary. Essentially, FSO very well may make a true "wireless infrastructure" less of an oxymoron and more of a reality.

freespaceoptics.org
The Economist: "A New Old Idea"

Labels: Wireless

The Web, and subsequent ways to browse it, has become host to new and emergent technologies to improve the user experience. One of the latest, released to public in a free Beta download last month, is a 3-D browsing tool called Space Time.

Space Time allows for 3-D tabbed browsing, as well as 3-D eBay, Yahoo and Google searches. You can also search just for images on Flickr or YouTube for videos, allowing images to breeze by you one-by-one across the screen.

PC World recently reviewed the program, and noted that compared to other 3-D browsing tools, Space Time holds up nicely. The search function is particularly useful, allowing you to see whole Web pages instead of just the small snippets of text that Google or other search engines display. However, the reviewer also notes that functionality still has a ways to go - the browsing capability doesn't allow you to type a URL and directly navigate to one page, and the program also requires a pretty powerful system to function properly.

Space Time

Space Time Review (PC World)

Labels: Web Technologies, Wireless