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Telecommunications
Hawaiian earthquake emphasizes value of text messages in emergencies
By Mike Hanlon
October 17, 2006 RU OK? In the crush to communicate with family and friends after the weekend's 6.7 earthquake on the Richter Scale in Hawaii, sending text messages proved to be a quick, efficient way to communicate, according to Verizon Wireless. In the aftermath of earthquakes, hurricanes and floods, voice call traffic rises exponentially. In fact, call volume on the Verizon Wireless network in Hawaii increased 250% over a normal Sunday during the height of the emergency. Text message volume also soared and given the low stress nature of text messaging on the network, Verizon has offered some emergency wireless communications tips which are worth a read. 1 - Maintain a list of emergency phone numbers in your phone. 2 - Have additional charged batteries and car-charger adapters available for back-up power 3 - Forward your home phone calls to your wireless number if you have to evacuate 4 - Limit non-emergency calls to conserve battery power and free-up wireless networks for emergency agencies and operations 5 - Send brief text messages rather than making voice calls for the same reasons. They’re all logical, so it might be worth passing them on. Read More
Wireless, wired, VOIP, Power over Ethernet, all in one box
By Mike Hanlon
October 6, 2006 Wait, before your eyes glaze over because it looks like just another box destined for the IT department, it’s significant and a signpost to the future as it combines all of the components necessary for wireless and wired Data Access and VoIP networking, all in one box. 3Com announced the unified switch for small and medium businesses (SMBs) earlier this week and apart from converging wired and wireless networking functionality it also includes Power over Ethernet (PoE) to support Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony. The 3Com Unified Gigabit Wireless PoE Switch 24 is easy to deploy and manage solution and it’s cost-effective and designed for SMBs that want all of the elements of a business-class network, as well as a platform for delivering advanced communications solutions such as wireless and VoIP, in one box. No really, it is significant!! Read More
The first universal television program
By Mike Hanlon
October 2, 2006 Saturday (September 30, 2006) was an important day in the history of television as it saw the first universal television broadcast. The first satellite TV transmission took place in July 1962 when images of U.S. Vice President Lyndon Bain Johnson were beamed to Britain and France via the satellite Telstar. Similarly, the first global TV broadcast happened on June 25 1967 when the European Broadcasting Union produced the live two-hour international satellite television production Our World for a global television audience of 500 million, most of whom had tuned in to see the live performance by the Beatles who performed All you need is love. Cosmic Connexion was conceived by channel Arte and is the first universal television programme addressing all of the inhabitants of the cosmos. And what did they see? Two nude human presenters who explained how the human body was created, the main elements of daily human life and conveyed messages from humans to an extra terrestrial audience of hopefully, more than zero. The programme was simultaneously transmitted into space by a French National Centre for Space Studies (CNES) antenna. Read More
New optical fibre data transmission record
By Mike Hanlon
October 2, 2006 Sometimes you need to have a physical reference to fully comprehend how big, fast or remarkable a certain achievement is, and that’s exactly the case with the truly astounding achievement of Japanese telco Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation when it successfully demonstrated optical fibre transmission of 14 Tera bits per second over a single 160 km long optical fibre. For those who don’t know, the word Tera signifies one trillion and … you see, hard to wrap the brain cells around what that really means isn’t it. It’s why Apple talks about the iPod in terms of the number of tunes it holds. Then try this for size! That’s 140 high-definition movies per second, waaay ahead of the old record of 100 hi-def movies per second. Clearly we’re going to have enough bandwidth for high res anything a few decades from now. Read More
Bluetooth conference phone
By Mike Hanlon
September 29, 2006 Polycom has released a new VoiceStation conference phone featuring Bluetooth. Designed for smaller meeting rooms and executive offices, the VoiceStation 500 conference phone is 33 per cent smaller than other Polycom models, and leverages Polycom's Acoustic Clarity Technology for full duplex, natural group conferencing that minimises background echoes, word clipping and distortion to provide a high-quality voice conferencing experience. Read More
Near Space system improves battlefield communications
By Mike Hanlon
August 31, 2006 The U.S. Air Force Space Command Space & Missile Systems Center's Development and Test Wing has announced a significant investment in Space Data Corporation’s near space communications system. Offering an important improvement in battlefield communications, the system has been extensively tested by the Air Force Space Battlelab over the past two years. The Space Data system utilizes a balloon-borne platform that takes advantage of the very predictable winds in near space to position communications equipment 20 miles above the earth. The Battlelab tests included using the same tactical radios carried by troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. The results showed that ground-to-ground voice and data communications could be extended from 10 miles to over 400 miles. Read More
The Wireless PHONEJack – now any telecom device can go wireless
By Mike Hanlon
August 14, 2006 We’re predicting that Danish company RTX’s new wireless phone jack is going to be a huge best seller. The Wireless PHONEJack provides a simple, cost effective method for getting a phone line to where it is needed. The Wireless PHONEJack has two main applications, firstly in providing a phone line extension where there is no phone socket and secondly in enabling remote phones to connect to VoIP ATAs. Once connected the Wireless PHONEJack creates a 50 meters radius wireless phone network using DECT radio technology. This allows a user to connect an analogue phone device such as a phone, answering machines, fax or conference phone wirelessly to a PSTN line or VoIP ATA. The Wireless PHONEJack can wirelessly connect up to 4 separate phones within a 50 meter radius of the ATA, making VoIP calls a reality not just from near the ATA but elsewhere in the home or office. Likewise a user can connect up to 4 phone devices to a PSTN phone line without the need to run cables to places where they want the phones without the need to run expensive and messy cables. And installation is easy - it takes less than one minute to plug the Wireless PHONEJack into a power point near an existing phone line and set up it up to route phone calls. The Wireless Phone Jack is available from in Europe (EUR65), Australia (AUD$100) and the United States (US$90) immediately. Read More
World's smallest, globally-compliant UHF RFID reader module
By Mike Hanlon
August 5, 2006 Embedded RFID reader technology specialist SkyeTek has announced availability of the M9 UHF SkyeModule, the world's smallest, least expensive EPC Class 1 Gen 1/2 and ISO 18000-6B/C OEM reader module that meets regulatory compliance requirements for the world's major markets including North America, Europe (ETSI 302 208), Korea, and Japan. Approximately half the size of a business card, the M9 was designed for embedded UHF applications such as item-level inventory, handheld reading / encoding, and printing. Priced at US$199 per module and US$59 per ReaderWare license, the M9 offers excellent value in the embedded UHF reader market. Read More
QuietOps Tactical Communication Headset with the lot
By Mike Hanlon
July 31, 2006 Silynx creates miniature tactical hearing protection communication headsets for the US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), US Army, USMC and many of the world’s elite Special Forces. It is operated by a team of experienced former Special Operations personnel worked with the SOF community to develop its new QuietOps Smart Tactical Communication Headset and Ear Protector. The company aims to replace multiple tactical communication headsets with one lightweight system with enhanced functionality, and the software-defined communication headset provides full-spectrum active noise reduction, thus enabling near-normal speech and hearing in the harshest environments. It comes with a dual wireless PTT with Picatinny rail attachment, and seamless will seamlessly integrate with the majority of SOF intercom systems. It has VOX for hands-free operation and offers super-normal hearing and sound localization along with a range of other covert communication functions plus total mask efficiency (no need for throat, boom or bone conduction mics) for complete communication flexibility. Read More
Grain-Sized wireless memory chip promises links between digital and physical worlds
By Mike Hanlon
July 18, 2006 The concept of information ubiquity and a digital presence for all manmade objects moved a little closer to reality today when HP announced that its researchers have developed a miniature (that's it pictured in the centre of the pencils) wireless data chip that could provide broad access to digital content in the physical world. With no equal in terms of its combination of size, memory capacity and data access speed, the tiny chip could be stuck on or embedded in almost any object and make available up to 100 pages of text information or an audio file. Some of the potential applications include storing medical records on a hospital patient's wristband; providing audio-visual supplements to postcards and photos; helping fight counterfeiting in the pharmaceutical industry; adding security to identity cards and passports; and supplying additional information for printed documents such as workshop manuals that read themselves aloud via your other digital equipment, magazines with more embedded digital information on each story. Read More
World's Smallest and Lowest Power WiFi Chipset Solution
By Mike Hanlon
June 19, 2006 The impetus of convergence grew today when Swedish company Nanoradio secured funding to ramp the volume manufacture of its first generation low power NRX700 WiFi chipset for portable electronic devices. With a total die size of only 20mm2 the NRX700 has both the smallest footprint and the lowest power consumption in the market in transmit, receive and stand-by modes. Most importantly, the WLAN single chip System in Package (SIP) makes high speed wireless access possible in mobile phones, MP3 players, handheld computing devices, PDAs, Mobile gaming platforms, digital video and still cameras and headsets. Probably the biggest short term effect will be to accelerate Voice over IP and fixed to cellular telephone convergence, as well as the revolution in media content transforming to digital mobile media supported by standards such as UMA (Unlicensed Mobile Access) and IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem). This is big, even if it’s well disguised. Read More
New wireless Pan/Tilt/Zoom IP Camera enables remote-control video through a web browser for US$300
By Mike Hanlon
June 19, 2006 Cisco subsidiary Linksys has announced a wireless Pan/Tilt/Zoom (PTZ) internet camera that can send live video and audio via the Internet to a web browser anywhere in the world. The WVC200 contains its own IP address, so it doesn’t require an attached PC and easily connects to an existing Ethernet or Wireless network. Up to ten simultaneous users can have remote control of the camera's Pan/Tilt and 2X digital zoom and focus and it comes with the software to enable up to nine cameras to be monitored. The camera can be set up to record to a schedule or if it detects any movement or manually, and it can record to a networked hard drive and there’s even advanced search by time and date and playback on Windows Media Player. You can even set it to email alerts to up to four email addresses with attached video clips if the camera detects any motion. Now none of those capabilities are new, but when they are all bundled for US$299, we’re obviously reaching the point where a whole host of applications that were previously unthinkably cost-prohibitive are now viable. Read More
Internet ad revenues continue to soar
By Mike Hanlon
June 1, 2006 Take a look at the adjoining graph and you can see the bite which resulted from the infamous “tech-wreck” and the bullishness of the advertising market ever since. The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) yesterday announced that Internet advertising revenues reached a new record of US$3.9 billion for the first quarter of 2006, a 38 percent increase over Q1 2005 and a 6 percent increase over the traditionally strong fourth quarter figure for 2005. The continued growth of the internet is reshaping the media landscape – in the last three years internet ad revenues have surpassed cinema, outdoor, radio and magazine advertising revenues. Read More
Low-Cost DECT telephones soon to feature Internet functions and get 40 percent cheaper
By Mike Hanlon
April 30, 2006 A decade has passed since the launch of the DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications) standard, introducing a new freedom of movement during landline telephone conversations. There are currently over 220 million of DECT telephones in use, with another 40 million to be sold this year. Now chip manufacturer Infineon has announced details of its eighth generation of DECT phone chips, featuring new functions such as polyphonic ring tones, colour displays, exchanging of text messages (SMS), alphanumeric access to data bases and the integration of Internet services such as the transmission of news and music programs. Infineon also announced that it will release a single chip later this year that will contain all the DECT-relevant functions currently spread over three special chips. For the first time, voice processing, wireless transmission, and signal amplification will be accomplished using one piece of silicon, enabling telephone manufacturers to reduce the production costs for a DECT telephone by approximately 40 percent. Read More
Nokia 8800 Aston Martin Edition
By Mike Hanlon
April 11, 2006 Marketing partnerships make sense, particularly if the brands complement each other. Which is why two of the world's most aspirational brands in Aston Martin and Nokia have collaborated to create the Nokia 8800. This exclusive iteration of the Nokia's flagship 8800 will be manufactured in strictly limited numbers, and features a discrete laser-etched 'Aston Martin' logo on the stainless steel casing. This is complemented by the words so synonymous with Aston Martin, 'Power, Beauty & Soul’, etched into the Nokia 8800's unique stand-alone charging station, plus elegantly-designed packaging bearing the Aston Martin wings. Read More
Disney Mobile’s Launch Handset
By Mike Hanlon
April 7, 2006 Pantech Wireless, the U.S. based subsidiary of South Korea’s Pantech Group and Disney Mobile today jointly announced plans for the DM-P100, the first wireless handset in the Disney Mobile portfolio. At the CTIA Wireless 2006 trade show in Las Vegas, the two companies said the new mobile phone was scheduled to hit the U.S. market with the launch of Disney Mobile this summer. Disney Mobile is the first comprehensive mobile service built specifically for families. It will include custom handsets, extensive entertainment content, and an innovative package of features and applications that meet the unique communication needs of families. Read More
Samsung showcases ultra-slim bar phone at CTIA
By Mike Hanlon
April 7, 2006 Following the global trend towards slim, wide-screened phone designs that was created by Motorola’s RAZR, Samsung today unveiled a super slim bar phone that is expected to be the thinnest available in the U.S. when it launches this spring. The Samsung t509, displayed for the first time at the CTIA Wireless 2006 trade show, is just 9.8 mm thick and becomes the third slim phone design from Samsung, adding to the company’s existing a900 clamshell and t809 slider models. Read More
Samsung unveils RIM Blackberry Connect E-mail Phone, HSDPA Phone and WiFi/UMA-Enabled Phone
By Mike Hanlon
April 7, 2006 Samsung unveiled eight mobile phones for the U.S. market at the annual CTIA Wireless 2006 trade show yesterday including three revolutionary devices that are the vanguard of Samsung's mobile lifestyle solutions offering. These phones are expected to be first in the U.S. market featuring RIM Blackberry Connect in a slim folder design (t719), high-speed HSDPA capabilities (zx20) and WiFi/UMA connectivity (t709), giving consumers unprecedented options for mobile productivity and entertainment. Read More
Experimental IP-connected bus route in Paris
By Mike Hanlon
April 6, 2006 French Public Transportation provider RATP is currently conducting an experimental "Internet Protocol (IP) in Motion" project on the bus line No. 38 in Paris. The technology provides realtime connectivity for 'Dilidam,' a key information initiative for travellers on the RATP transport network, including real time transit and localised passenger information, as well as news or entertainment clips. The on board video surveillance system and other professional applications now have permanent IP connectivity, improving RATP’s customers' security, safety and travel information. Read More
New data transmission record - 60 DVDs per second
By Mike Hanlon
March 24, 2006 As the world’s internet traffic grows relentlessly, faster data transmission will logically become crucial. To enable telecommunications networks to cope with the phenomenal surge in data traffic as the internet population moves past a billion users, researchers are focusing on new systems to increase data transmission rates and it’s not surprising that the world data transmission record is continually under threat. Unlike records where human physical capabilities limit new records to incremental growth, when human ingenuity is the deciding factor, extraordinary gains are possible. German and Japanese scientists recently collaborated to achieve just such a quantum leap in obliterating the world record for data transmission. By transmitting a data signal at 2.56 terabits per second over a 160-kilometer link (equivalent to 2,560,000,000,000 bits per second or the contents of 60 DVDs) the researchers bettered the old record of 1.28 terabits per second held by a Japanese group. By comparison, the fastest high-speed links currently carry data at a maximum 40 Gbit/s, or around 50 times slower. Read More
RDCRS ensures cellular signal coverage when disaster strikes
By Mike Hanlon
March 16, 2006 CellAntenna’s new CAE750 Dual-Band Rapid Deployment Cellular Repeater System (RDCRS) is a fully-portable version of the company's popular CAE700 dual-band repeater system. The RDCRS allows government agencies and other users to immediately deploy a solution that boosts cellular signals in outdoor and indoor areas that may not have adequate cellular signal coverage due to natural or terror-related disasters. Designed specifically for use in emergency operation centres and response vehicles, the RDCRS facilitates cellular communication in areas as large as 15,000 square feet, ensuring that personnel in that radius will receive reliable, clear cellular signals in low signal level conditions. The RDCRS is packaged in a rugged, roller-type case for easy transport, can easily fit into the trunk of a vehicle, and is lightweight enough to be deployed by a single person. Read More
First multilanguage payment terminal to support Chinese and English
By Mike Hanlon
March 15, 2006 When it comes to the most important languages in the world, Chinese and English make a good quinella. English is officially spoken in over 50 countries, the language of choice of business and with around 500 million speakers, is the most widely spoken language behind Chinese Mandarin (1.1 billion people). Which makes U.S. Bankcard Services new multilanguage card payment terminal a winning move – the terminal uses both Chinese and English graphics and text. The terminal is configured specifically to facilitate operations by merchants in either Chinese or English languages. Read More
The Mental Typewriter
By Mike Hanlon
March 14, 2006 Scientists demonstrated a brain-computer interface that translates brain signals into computer control signals this week at CeBIT in Berlin. The initial project demonstrates how a paralysed patient could communicate by using a mental typewriter alone – without touching the keyboard. In the case of serious accident or illness, a patient’s limbs can be paralyzed, severely restricting communication with the outside world. The interface is already showing how it can help these patients to write texts and thus communicate with their environment. There’s also a PONG game (computer tennis) used to demonstrate how the interface can be used. Brain Pong involves two BBCI users playing a game of teletennis in which the “rackets” are controlled by imagining movements and predictably the general media has focussed the majority of its attention on computer gaming applications but BCCI could equally be used in safety technologies (e.g. in automobiles for monitoring cognitive driver stress), in controlling prostheses, wheelchairs, instruments and even machinery. Read More
Samsung unveils the world's first 8GB hard disk embedded phone - the i310
By Mike Hanlon
March 7, 2006 Continuing to push the leading edge of mobile phone capability, Samsung will show an 8GB hard disk drive model dubbed the SGH-i310 at CeBIT later this week. Samsung is the first to adopt a hard disk drive into mobile phones and has launched three models equipped with a hard disk drive; the world's first 1.5GB HDD embedded phone (SPH-V5400), the world's first 3GB HDD embedded phone (SCH-V7900) and the world's first 3GB HDD Music smartphone (SGH-i300). The i310 which combines a phone, a digital camera and an MP3 player with its immense storage capacity will be introduced in the European market during the second half of this year and will catalyse change in the way people manage and use mobile phones. Read More
USRobotics Skype-certified Speakerphone rolls into Europe
By Mike Hanlon
March 6, 2006 USRobotics’ Skype-certified USB US$50 Internet Speakerphone has been on the US market for just on a month, and hits Europe later this month, with sales reportedly going gangbusters as the world begins to realise that VOIP offers tangible savings and little downside. The Flying Saucer USR9610 USB Internet Speakerphone makes free Skype calls hands free. With powerful echo cancellation technology, convenient volume and mute buttons, and full-duplex operation, the USR9610 works just like a traditional speakerphone, only without the costs of a long distance call. The speakerphone is light, and easy to install and use with the free software available from Skype. Read More
Barry J
- November 10, 2009 @ 00:59 UTC
