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Google Announces Buzz Mobile Social Networking App

Today, 1:35 PM   by Eric M. Zeman   updated Today, 1:57 PM

Today Google announced a new social networking service called Buzz that is integrated into Gmail. It offers easy ways to share links. photos and videos with Gmail contacts. In additional to this Gmail integration, Google also announced related products for mobile services that tie-in relevant location information. The service is available from Google.com for many handsets. There is a Buzz application available for the iPhone and Android platforms, and there is a new version of Google Maps for Mobile for the Symbian S60 and Windows Mobile platforms. These all marry a mobile user's location and map it to an exact place or location so that friends and/or followers can see where that user is. Posts from any given location will be geo-tagged for reference. Buzz combines many of the elements of Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare with existing Google services such as Maps, Picasa and YouTube. Users will be able to see what other "Buzz" is happening near them when they check their map and reach out to those who are nearby. The service is free to use starting later today.

Fraunhofer Adds More Audio Codecs to Android Platform

Today, 11:04 AM   by Eric M. Zeman

Today Fraunhofer announced several new initiatives aimed at improving the audio and multimedia experience of Android devices. Fraunhofer made MPEG-4 HE-AAC v2 support available to the Android platform beginning today. This codec is used by digital television and radio broadcasting, as well as to stream internet radio over 3G or Wi-Fi. Fraunhofer also announced MPEG Surround for Android. Fraunhofer says that MPEG Surround will offer CD-quality, multi-channel "experience" streaming audio over wireless networks without an increase in bitrate. The codecs have been optimized for low energy consumption and are compatible with a number of processing platforms, such as ARM, MIPS, Texas Instruments, Analog Devices, and Freescale.

Broadcom Says All Wireless Chips Now Support Android

Today, 9:13 AM   by Eric M. Zeman

Today Broadcom made a slew of announcements regarding its portfolio of wireless chips. Its combo and single wireless chip solutions now all support the Android platform. Broadcom notes that it will bring Bluetooth 3.0+HS and Wi-Fi Direct to Android handsets, as well as its latest GPS receivers. Broadcom says that its chips won't just support Android phones, but Android-based personal navigation devices and Android-based tablets, as well. Broadcom also announced a new GPS, Bluetooth, FM radio combo chip for smartphones. This new chip has better media support and consumes less power.

Texas Instruments Announces WiLink 7 Combo Chip

Today, 9:00 AM   by Eric M. Zeman

Today Texas Instruments introduced the WiLink 7, a new Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, FM radio combination on a single chip. The Wi-Fi support includes the new Wi-Fi Direct standard, the Bluetooth includes the Bluetooth 3.0+HS standard, and the FM radio is able to transmit as well as receive. According to Texas Instruments, the 65nm processes used to manufacture the chip leads to a 30 percent reduction in cost and a 50 percent reduction in size. This means equipment makers should be able to integrate the chip into their designs more easily. The chip is already sampling and Texas Instruments says it should reach consumers by the end of 2010.

Motorola Says Android 2.1 Headed to Droid This Week

Yesterday, 5:23 PM   by Eric M. Zeman

Today Motorola announced via its official Facebook page that users of the Motorola Droid should expect their devices to update to Android version 2.1 at some point this week. The company said, "We're happy to relay the 2.1 upgrade to Droid will start to roll out this week, and we will have more information to share on other device upgrades later this week as well." Motorola didn't state which features would be included with the update, nor exactly when Verizon will begin to deliver the update to end users. Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha has publicly said that it will update the Motorola CLIQ to Android 2.1.

Google Lowers Nexus One ETF to $150

Yesterday, 4:20 PM   by Eric M. Zeman

Google recently indicated via its support forums that it has lowered the early termination fee for its Nexus One smartphone from $350 to $150. Google had originally instituted its own "equipment recovery fee" of $350 for those who cancel their T-Mobile contracts within the first 120 days. Even the new, lower fee of $150 is still in addition to the standard early termination fee of $200 being charged by T-Mobile for those who cancel their contracts early. Google, T-Mobile and the other major wireless network operators were recently queried by the FCC about their ETF policies.

Broadcom Intros New Smartphone Chip

Yesterday, 9:48 AM   by Eric M. Zeman

Today Broadcom announced a new baseband chip for the Android and Windows Mobile platforms. The new chip supports HSPA with 7.2Mbps on the downlink and 5.8Mbps on the uplink. It has a new core to support 3D graphics, it can support cameras up to eight megapixels, and it has the ability to encode and decode H.264 video at 30 frames per second. Broadcom said the new chip will come with a transceiver that uses is 65nm processes, which makes it more energy efficient. It will also support Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and FM radios.

Novatel Makes Its First LTE Call

Yesterday, 8:31 AM   by Eric M. Zeman

Today Novatel announced that it has completed its first data transmission via Long Term Evolution technology. Novatel didn't state what speeds it attained, nor whether or not the equipment used was standards compliant. Novatel did say that it will launch commercial equipment later this year.

Quickie:
Google Maps v3.4 for Droid Enables Multitouch

Friday, 2:01 PM   by Eric M. Zeman

Google recently announced version 3.4 of Google Maps for Mobile. It became available for the Motorola Droid today in the Android Market. One of the new features includes multitouch within Google Maps.

Bluetooth SIG Approves First ZTE Phone for Verizon

Friday, 1:36 PM   by Eric M. Zeman   updated Friday, 2:24 PM

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group recently approved a ZTE phone with Verizon branding on it. This would be the first ZTE phone picked up by Verizon if it goes on sale. The SIG's documents confirm the ZTE phone has CDMA 1x and Bluetooth radios, as well as a camera and voice controls. The ZTE F350 has not been announced. ZTE is a cell phone and equipment manufacturer based in China.

AT&T Pushes Family Locator Details To iPhone

Friday, 11:37 AM   by Eric M. Zeman

Today AT&T announced an updated version of its FamilyMap iPhone application that comes with a number of new features. The biggest change is that it allows users to locate family members and see their whereabouts directly on their mobile phone. Previously this feature was limited to a computer. Users can now also customize more locations and points of interest, as well as their own devices with labels. Other new features that the application provides include the ability to check family members' schedules, set up landmarks, pan through the map to locate people, locate family members on-demand, and send messages to family members from within the FamilyMap application. The service costs $10 per month for two lines, or $15 per month for up to five lines.

Deutsche Telekom Considering T-Mobile USA Spin-Off

Feb 4, 2010, 5:09 PM   by Eric M. Zeman

According to sources cited by the Wall Street Journal, Deutsche Telekom is weighing options for its T-Mobile USA property. One possibility would be to hold an initial public offering for the unit to build capital that could be used to offset the costs of building out T-Mobile USA's 3G network. The other consideration is an outright sale of the unit to another company or group of investors. Deutsche Telekom's shareholders have been consistently unhappy with T-Mobile USA's financial performance. T-Mobile USA is the fourth largest network operator in the U.S., trailing AT&T, Sprint and Verizon wireless, with about 14% of the market. Deutsche Telekom is talking to banks about what to do, and will make a decision some time in the next couple of months. Finding a buyer in the U.S. market will be difficult, as an acquisition by AT&T would likely run into regulatory hurdles, and Sprint and Verizon use different technology to run their networks.

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