GSM DROID with multitouch pinch-to-zoom demoed on video hating America

[Via SlashGear]
Europe posts


If your LTE modem's feeling a bit sluggish, well... first of all, we hate you for having access to that kind of network and equipment already. Secondly, you're insane. Thirdly, though, you're in luck -- because the European Union has just agreed to shell out some €18 million (about $25.4 million) toward development of LTE Advanced, the next logical step in the world's wide-area wireless roadmap. Negotiations for claiming the funds will start next month, while research is expected to commence in January of next year -- in other words, this labor isn't going to bear fruit for a while yet, but that's quite alright considering we don't exactly have a plethora of plain-vanilla LTE networks commercially available at the moment.We have a multi-year agreement with Apple to sell iPhone in the UK. This relationship continues.Man, those Britons keep it short and sweet, don't they?
Take yourself back -- way back -- all the way to 1987, when cellphones were still in their infancy and the nations of Europe threw together the forward-thinking GSM Directive. GSM, of course, would go on to become the world's dominant digital cellular technology, but here's the thing: it's not 1987 anymore. Sadly, part of the original Directive are still in full effect, and the 900MHz band is stuck in a world of days gone by while the bulk of mainland Europe happily whizzes along on the 3G-blessed 2100MHz spectrum up above it. Not all is lost, though -- the Council of Ministers has finally approved a plan to allow 3G and 4G services on 900MHz, which it believes will end up saving operators around €1.6 billion ($2.28 billion), ostensibly because lower frequencies allow towers to be spaced further apart from one another. Normally we'd be opposed to adding yet another band into the worldwide hodgepodge of GSM bands, but in this case, we feel like we're welcoming an old friend back into the club, you know?
While the free-market works pretty well when, uh, left alone to be free, sometimes it needs a push from a visible hand. Case in point, phone chargers, at the moment some 30 different types of chargers are used on handsets throughout Europe. Today, the European Commission received industry backing of its phone charger standard that relies on a micro-USB socket. The standard is now backed by all the majors (representing 90% of the European mobile market) including Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola, Apple, LG, NEC, Qualcomm, Research in Motion, Samsung and Texas Instruments with compatible devices starting to appear in Europe next year. Or course, the micro-USB charger standard already has the blessings of CTIA, OMTP, and GSM Association which implies a broader adoption beyond Europe, someday. One charger for any mobile phone... where's the catch?








