Device Arena

Motorola, Inc. today announced that it has acquired the assets related to digital cable set-top products of Zhejiang Dahua Digital Technology Co., LTD and Hangzhou Image Silicon (collectively, Dahua Digital). Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Dahua Digital is a privately held, developer, manufacturer, and marketer of cable set-tops and related low cost integrated circuits for the emerging Chinese cable business. Dahua Digital’s leading set-top portfolio includes basic set-tops, two-way interactive set-tops and the high-end media-center class of products. Dahua Digital also has a substantial China cable operator customer base. Its strong, established support infrastructure for digital cable customers includes focused development resources, a direct sales force for the existing regional customers, an established field engineering team and an integration team to ensure that customer requirements are met rapidly.

(more…)

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. - Pasadena City College students and faculty will be able to tap the power of converged voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP) communications and wireless Internet access under a two-year, $6.7 million agreement.

“In providing state-of-the-art educational facilities and technology capacity to meet the needs of today’s students, Pasadena City College is proud to collaborate with Verizon Business to greatly expand opportunities for enhanced services and a robust network,” said Dr. Paulette J. Perfumo, PCC president. “While this was initially slated as an 18-month project, contractors are ahead of schedule and look to have all installations completed within a year.”

(more…)

Portfolio showcases innovation and experience in Motorola’s broadband voice and data services that are making a difference for customers
Motorola today took the wraps off its full line of DOCSIS 3.0-based customer premises equipment (CPE) designed to deliver high-capacity cable voice and data services. Coming on the heels of several pre-DOCSIS 3.0 commercial deployments, the product line of cable and digital voice modems is further evidence of Motorola’s commitment to proven bandwidth-expansion technologies in the cable industry.

New products for residential and commercial cable services – Motorola’s DOCSIS 3.0 SURFboard^® product line interoperates with Motorola’s DOCSIS 3.0 CMTS platform and other DOCSIS 3.0-qualified CMTS industry solutions.

(more…)

Ericsson and Russian operator VimpelCom have signed an agreement for the supply and implementation of a WCDMA/HSPA network, plus associated services, to cover seven out of nine macro regions across Russia, including Moscow, the North Caucasus, Siberia, Volga, Northwest Russia, South Russia and the Urals.

Under the five-year agreement, Ericsson will supply a WCDMA/HSPA radio access and core network, including circuit-switching and packet-switching, and subscriber management system Home Location Register (HLR). Ericsson will also be responsible for a range of telecom services, including deployment and integration, systems integration, operation and maintenance assistance, technical support and training.

The move will enable VimpelCom to offer advanced multimedia and high-speed mobile broadband services, such as Mobile TV and video calls, to its subscribers.

Ericsson is currently powering 86 of the 174 commercial HSPA networks launched worldwide, with many additional ongoing deployments.

Telecommunications company BITĖ Lietuva in cooperation with Vodafone and Research In Motion (RIM) today announced the launch of the BlackBerry wireless solution in Lithuania.

The BlackBerry solution is renowned for its secure push-based wireless access to email and other applications. When an email arrives at the user’s account, the message is automatically delivered to the BlackBerry smartphone. In addition to wireless email access, BlackBerry smartphones enable customers to make calls, send and receive messages (SMS, MMS, and Instant Messaging), browse the Internet and access their organizer as well as thousands of business and lifestyle applications.

(more…)

Sprint wireless customers in the Chicagoland area who already take advantage of the company’s networks should experience even better wireless services as a result of Sprint local network enhancements that occurred throughout 2007. Sprint added 106 wireless cell sites and created 177 in-building network solutions during 2007 to the Nationwide Sprint Network and Nextel National Network in the greater Chicago area.

“With a clear focus on serving its customers, Sprint is making significant investments to increase coverage and capacity in its wireless networks in Chicago and throughout the country,” said J.W. Penland, Sprint area vice president for Illinois and Wisconsin. “In 2008, customer satisfaction and network quality are top priorities, as customers rely on Sprint to stay connected.”

The following list outlines some local areas benefiting from these enhancements:

(more…)

Vodafone in collaboration with Research In Motion (RIM), introduces the BlackBerry® Pearl™ 8110 smartphone in India. The ultra sleek BlackBerry Pearl 8110 comes with built-in GPS, rich multimedia features and the powerful communication capabilities of the BlackBerry® solution. The BlackBerry Pearl 8110 can access up to 10 supported personal email accounts using BlackBerry® Internet Service and corporate email and data systems via BlackBerry® Enterprise Server.

Through its built-in GPS, the BlackBerry Pearl 8110 can pinpoint a user’s location and provides “out-of-the-box” support for a wide variety of location-based applications and services including Google Maps.

Featuring an elegant black finish, the BlackBerry Pearl 8110 smartphone is an exceptional lifestyle tool that makes it easier for businesses and individuals on the move to make calls, email, surf the net, take and send photographs, listen to music, watch and record* videos and access their organiser as well as a range of applications for both work and play.

(more…)

Ericsson has entered into an agreement to divest its enterprise PBX solutions business to Aastra Technologies. The agreement involves transfer of approximately 630 employees of which some 360 are based in Sweden. The transaction is expected to close in April 2008. From now on, Ericsson will focus on providing its broad portfolio of enterprise applications directly to operators and service providers.

Ericsson’s enterprise PBX solutions business is a leading provider of IP PBX, converged PBX systems and branch office solutions. The product portfolio includes communications solutions for enterprises of all sizes, mobility solutions, telephone terminals and services. Sales in 2007 amounted to approximately SEK 3 billion. The purchase price is SEK 650 million excluding net of assets and liabilities. A capital gain of approximately SEK 200 million is expected.

(more…)

Sprint and Samsung Mobile today announced the upcoming availability of the Samsung Ace, a sleek, stylish and commanding smartphone powered by the Sprint Mobile Broadband Network and Windows Mobile 6.

The Samsung Ace delivers the versatility of a slim and compact smartphone combined with the experience of a personal computer, complete with Windows Mobile 6 capabilities. Operating in the U.S. on the Sprint Mobile Broadband Network, the Samsung Ace provides clear voice calls, core PDA and organizational capabilities and easy access to exclusive Sprint content, including Sprint TVSM with more than 50 channels of live television and on-demand video and audio and On Demand with up-to-date information on sports, weather, news, money and more customized to the user’s zip code. With quad-band capabilities, the Samsung ACE also operates globally on CDMA and GSM/GPRS networks where Sprint has international roaming agreements. With the Samsung ACE Sprint customers can make or receive calls in approximately 180 countries and access professional and personal email, view documents and files, surf the web, and sync their Outlook calendar in nearly 100 countries. More information about expansive international coverage options with Sprint can be found at www.sprint.com/international.

(more…)

Sprint and Samsung Mobile today announced the immediate availability of the M520 by Samsung. This unique slider phone makes it easy for customers to access the Web, find local restaurants, watch live television, download their favorite songs, send text messages or use GPS to find their way home.

As the first Power Vision phone in a slim, slider form factor, the M520 by Samsung is simple to operate and slips easily into a pocket or purse. It offers a robust multi-tasking capability that gives customers the ability to play music in background mode while also using the phone for text messaging, playing games or surfing the Internet.

(more…)