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New agreement integrates satellite / cellular technology in mobile chip

by Darren Murph posted Sep 22nd 2008 @ 2:05PM

SkyTerra's Mobile Satellite Ventures, ICO Global Communications and Qualcomm have jointly announced today a partnership that could have far-reaching implications in the mobile realm. In short, the trio has agreed to "integrate satellite and cellular communication technology in select multi-mode mobile baseband chips," which will essentially enable handsets to have "ubiquitous mobile communications coverage from anywhere in North America, including areas where traditional cellular service is currently unavailable or unreliable." The release proclaims that this hookup will lead to satellite connectivity being in mass-market devices, but only time will tell how long it takes for compatible handsets to get adopted by carriers. Unfortunately, we do know it won't happen prior to 2010, as that's the planned ship date for the newfangled chips. Thanks for the heads-up, guys -- but oh, how the tease hurts us.

[Via PhoneScoop]

Update: Images provided are of Mobile Satellite Ventures' design concepts.

Gallery: New agreement integrates satellite / cellular technology in mobile chip

Analog cellular networks, R.I.P.: 1983 - 2008

by Chris Ziegler posted Feb 18th 2008 @ 7:51AM

Marking the end of a remarkable era in cellular technology, the FCC is officially letting American carriers decommission their legacy analog networks as of today, February 18, 2008. Few of us still own a phone based on AMPS -- Advanced Mobile Phone System, ironically, despite the fact that there's been nothing "advanced" about it for many years -- but we owe the very existence of the world's modern wireless infrastructure to the introduction and overwhelming success of the Bell Labs-developed technology. So successful was AMPS, in fact, that it eventually covered virtually 100 percent of the continental United States, a statistic CDMA and GSM have only recently begun to approach.

Continue reading Analog cellular networks, R.I.P.: 1983 - 2008

Modu mystery unravelled, look ma, a modular handset

by Sean Cooper posted Feb 7th 2008 @ 12:01AM

Mystery solved, modu is of course, a modular cellular handset -- the answer was in the name the whole time, clever. The fun begins with the idea that the actual handset can be slipped into "modu jackets" which let users completely change the look of their handset without having to replace it -- we see the potential for way too much glittery gem-encrusted foolishness here. The other half of the deal is slapping the modu into different modu-enabled consumer electronics, or "modu mates" -- think car stereos, photo frames, DAPs, and whatever else you can dream up. If we were betting types, we think modu is on to something pretty interesting here, and it seems with likes of Blaupunkt, Universal Music, and SanDisk already onboard, the Q4 launch might prove to be something special. We don't have any pics showing detail or any technical specs handy just now, but rest assured, we're going to be all over them at Mobile World Congress for more info.

The 4G war: has WiMAX won, or will Verizon choose LTE?

by Conrad Quilty-Harper posted Oct 29th 2007 @ 1:18PM

In a wrap-up of the state of 4G networks over at BusinessWeek, the battle between the three competing 4G network standards -- WIMAX, Long Term Evolution (LTE), and Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB) -- is appraised, with WIMAX clearly edging out its other rivals. This could be a two horse race before long if Verizon chooses to back GSM's successor LTE over CDMA's sequel, UMB. That would leave Qualcomm without one of its most significant backers for CDMA's spiritual sibling, although it'll do just fine thanks to the multiple 4G patents it holds. Ultimately though, in all of this space there's very little discussion about what the consumer wants: do we really need two or three different standards that probably won't inter-operate, leaving us back at the square we've always been at? Frankly, for all the benefits that 4G is purported to bring, we'd like something a little more imaginative than the usual bickering amongst the big shots.

Update: Although it didn't come from VZW, last month Vodafone's chairman Arun Sarin made it clear that Verizon will go for LTE. Bad news for UMB!