Device Arena

Alcatel-Lucent announced that it is rolling out Bouygues Telecom’s 3G/HSPA network in four of Bouygues Telecom’s six operational regions in France. Alcatel-Lucent’s advanced wireless solutions will enable Bouygues Telecom to offer customers throughout most of France such sophisticated mobile commercial services as high-speed data and high-definition video-on-demand.

Under the framework of the five-year contract, Alcatel-Lucent is responsible for installation and deployment of UMTS/HSPA (Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service/ High Speed Packet Access) solutions. The solution encompasses the Alcatel-Lucent Radio Access Network solution, management and associated installation services.

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Sprint and Connectivity Source announced today they are teaming up to launch an innovative mobile program to give Sprint Nextel customers an easy and convenient way to receive service and repair on their wireless phones — the Sprint Service and Repair Van. The yellow and black van will bring service and repair assistance directly to the customer by providing phone repair, answering technical questions, servicing accounts and offering options to purchase accessories and new handsets. Customers also will be able to move their existing phone books from their previous wireless phone to their new one.

Local business customers in New Orleans and Baton Rouge can request the Onsite Support Services by Connectivity Source simply by going to the web site at www.onsitesupportservices.com.

“Providing our customers with convenient and superior customer service is a priority for Sprint,” said Jeff Bennett, area vice president for Sprint in the Southeast. “We are pleased to unveil the service and repair vehicle in New Orleans, and we plan to duplicate these efforts in additional markets in the Southeast.”

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Google, the Mounatin View internet giant, released a beta version of My Location, an application for Google Maps that enables mobile phone users to view their location on the map, without necessarily having a GPS enabled device. With My Location, users can save precious time when wanting to find out where they are, what’s around them or how to reach their destination.

The My Location service is offered by Google for free, of course, but only in the US (for the moment). It is created independent of carriers and it relies on cell tower identification, that’s why it works on both GPS and non GPS devices.

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Verizon Wireless, the leading wireless company with the nation’s most reliable wireless voice and data network, announced the XV6800 is available today online and through Verizon Wireless business sales. The XV6800 will be available in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores on Dec. 5.

The Verizon Wireless XV6800 delivers powerful messaging and communications capabilities, including Windows Mobile 6 Professional, which provides instant access to the Internet, calendar and contacts, tasks, e-mail, and much more. Also included are advanced phone features, such as a 2.0 megapixel camera with flash and video capture, and support for Microsoft Word®, Excel®, and PowerPoint® documents, as well as PDFs.

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The iPhone has been one of the most sought-after mobile phones in recent history. Its product life follows a unique path, that’s never been seen in another mobile phone to date. Today the iPhone family will get extended as the French hop on board. Despite the hefty price and unwieldy contract stipulations, almost everyone seems to want one and some Germans are even willing to pay EUR 999 for an unlocked unit. All that inspired us of putting down some of our editorial comments into a short article.

There’s no wonder the iPhone black market is thriving and is currently bristling with activity. After all, it’s Apple themselves that have created the necessary conditions for the black market to emerge in the first place - a high-end product that’s sold exclusively. “Exclusivity” means that not everyone can have it. The black market however goes hand in hand with that sort of stuff.

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The Chinese MSN website has a rather extensive Sony Ericsson models list in their Downloads section for the Windows Live Messenger plus some that are not yet released. It seems the Chinese are ahead of everyone else when it comes to the latest upcoming models Sony Ericsson P3, Sony Ericsson M610 and also Motorola E9.

The Sony Ericsson handsets seem a long way from official announcement however we’ve already seen similar prototype photos of P3 six months ago. And it still looks fake enough with that fullscreen Walkman logo. No specs are known yet, however if there’s even a slight truth in those pictures, the next Sony Ericsson smartphones will again have the bar form factor plus the dreadful QWERTY keyboard first used in Sony Ericsson M600.

The Motorola E9 is also among the handsets spotted at the same website - it’s again a rumored handset that still hasn’t been officially announced.

GSMArena

Spb Software House pioneers in implementing Windows Mobile Marketplace technology in a real, consumer-market solution. Spb Catalog, an on-device mobile content catalog based on the Marketplace technology, is now shipped by such major device manufacturers as Fly, Gigabyte, and HTC.

“Our partner OEMs have recognized the opportunity of doing more for their customers with Spb Catalog. We all agree that Windows Mobile Marketplace is set to revolutionize the way people become aware of, buy, and install software; it might even change the way devices are generally used,” – comments Vassili Philippov, Spb Software House COO. “Spb Catalog can secure multiple benefits for all the parties involved. The end users get immediate access to the most up-to-date content, the device manufacturers are able to deliver fuller device experiences to customers, and the mobile operators get an additional means of differentiation,” Vassili concludes.

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Motorola and Marriott International announced they are teaming up to bring enhanced business and entertainment services to Marriott’s hotel guests around the world. As a core connectivity platform for advanced service delivery, Marriott has chosen Motorola’s PowerBroadband system. PowerBroadband has recently been deployed in over 15,000 Marriott-branded guestrooms in prestigious hotels including the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, VA, the Marriott Wardman Park in Washington, D.C., and the Orlando World Center Resort and Convention Center in Orlando, FL.

Motorola’s mT2a PowerBroadband product line was selected because its innovative design provides the performance levels required for next-generation, triple- and quad-play IP services while eliminating many of the frustrations often found with installing, using, and maintaining classic broadband systems. Hotel managers have seen the number of customer complaints and the number of system troubles decrease significantly after installation of PowerBroadband.

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Nokia Foundation has granted its 2007 award to Pekka Abrahamsson for his merits in researching and developing global software development and processes.

The EUR 10,000 award was presented at the Foundation’s scholarship awards ceremony on November 28, 2007, when the Foundation celebrated its 13th year of operation.

Pekka Abrahamsson is a research professor at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and currently head of the FLEXI-ITEA2 project, which aims to improve the competitiveness of Europe’s software development by accelerating and adapting global product development and innovations. There are 37 organizations from eight European countries involved in the project. Abrahamsson is a pioneer of agile software development in Finland, and his team designed Mobile-D, the agile approach for mobile application development. Abrahamsson has also coached several agile software development projects in industry and has authored more than 55 scientific publications on software development and processes.

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O2 today announced the launch of the UK’s first large scale pilot of NFC (Near Field Communications) technology on mobile phones. The trial of the O2 Wallet® paves the way for the mass market use of mobile phones to pay for purchases, access events or even be used as Oyster cards for travel around London, simply by touching the phone to a reader.

“Research shows that people are more likely to return home if they leave their phone behind than their wallet or keys,” said Cath Keers, Customer Director, O2 UK. “So why not have your wallet on your phone? We believe that NFC technology is going to fundamentally change the way people use their mobile phones.”

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