Wireless News
Wireless News

Wireless News

Xybernaut and Stargate Mobile Deliver Wireless Computing for Auto Industries

Xybernaut Corp. and Stargate Mobile LLC today announced a partnership relationship under which Xybernaut mobile/wireless computing technologies and Stargate integration and solution expertise will be combined into a single solution for a variety of original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and after-market applications within the automotive industry. Under the relationship, Stargate has joined Team Xybernaut(TM) as a systems integrator and solution provider working with Xybernaut in the automotive sectors. Both companies have been working together for more than six months to develop and deploy the integrated computing platforms.

NEC Expanding China 3G Sales

NEC Corp will launch infrastructure-related operations for China’s 3G cellular phone market, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported, without citing sources. NEC is also expanding its cellular handset operation in China, the newspaper said. Shipments of the current generation of cell phones exceeded 1 million units as of Nov 30, exceeding the total for financial 2003, it said. NEC estimates that shipments will reach 2 mln units for the full fiscal year and grow to 3 mln in financial 2005, according to the article.

Fujitsu Develops Breakthrough Technology for Mobile Base Station Amplifiers

Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd. today announced the development of a technology that enables low-cost production of gallium-nitride(GaN)(*1) highelectron mobility transistors(HEMT)(*2), a key technology in mobile base station amplifiers for 3G and beyond. This breakthrough technology reduces GaN HEMT production costs to less than one-third that of conventional levels, thereby contributing to the realization of lower-cost GaN HEMT-based amplifiers. The technology is designed to enable practical use of compact, more energy-efficient mobile base stations using GaN HEMT. Details of this technology were presented at the International Electron Device Meeting (IEDM) 2004 held in San Francisco last week.

Casio's Opera-Browser 3G Phone

Opera has announced that the BREW-based Casio W21CA [.jpg image] mobile phone with the Opera browser has shipped and is now available in Tokyo stores. This is the first phone deployed since Opera’s agreement with KDDI in August, fulfilling their promise to deliver Opera’s Web browser to KDDI’s 3G network in Japan. The Casio W21CA makes Opera the first full Web browser active on the Japanese 3G network.

First True WiMax Chip

WaveSat this week began shipping a chip that it says is the first to comply fully with the IEEE 802.16-2004 wireless broadband standard, commonly known as WiMax. The DM256 chip is now shipping in sample quantities and is expected to be available in volume in January, according to Francois Draper, vice president of sales and marketing at WaveSat, in Montreal. The chip will become a component of systems costing around $250 to $300 that should begin shipping in the second quarter of next year, he says.

Vodafone Expands to Hong Kong

Vodafone just announced the signing of a new Partner Network Agreement, which makes SmarTone Vodafone’s exclusive partner in Hong Kong. SmarTone will re-brand its business to SmarTone-Vodafone, bringing the Vodafone brand into Hong Kong’s (significant) mobile market. Under the agreement, both companies will co-operate in developing and offering products and services, through the SmarTone-Vodafone brand, to international travellers and domestic customers.