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Taipei, Taiwan — Dec 19, `07 — DigiTimes is reporting on Motorola’s plan to launch its next-generation Linux-based “Ming” handsets in the second quarter of 2008, with the hand input intelligence handsets to be available in both high-end and entry-level versions, citing Bill Chen, general manager of of mobile device business at Motorola Taiwan.

DigiTimes further reports, “While Motorola’s R&D center in Beijing will continue to handle the development of the high-end version of the new Ming handsets, the US vendor will outsource the production of the new entry-level Ming handsets to the Taiwan-based Inventec Group, according to market sources, who also noted that the new Ming handsets will continue to support the 2.5G standard.

Motorola on December 17 launched its high-end 3.5G RAZR V9 in Taiwan, and the company plans to introduce in Taiwan a Symbian-based ROKR Z8, Windows Mobile-based Q9 and three entry-level models, including the W360 and W213, before the end of this year, Chen said.” More at DigiTimes.

Nov 17, ‘07 — iSuppli.com have an in-depth article on Google’s entry into mobile OS, Android, in which iSuppli is discussing whether Google will succeed with its mobile platform.

Excerpts from iSuppli:

- The promise: ubiquitous, mobile Internet access for millions of users worldwide.
- The stakes: a market of 324 million units and advertising revenue of $3.8 billion by 2011.
- The risk: embarking on an ambitious effort to establish a consortium to promote a new platform for mobile computing/communications, an endeavor that others have tried before—and have achieved only high-profile failure.
- The news: Google Inc.’s bold initiative to reshape the mobile-phone market by establishing a consortium of companies intended to promote a new platform for mobile-handset software that will bring Internet access to smart phone platforms.

For users, Google’s move could mean that Internet access will no longer be limited to the confines of the PC. For Google’s rivals, the establishment of the consortium means the arrival of a powerful new competitor—one that could cannibalize their sales. For Google, this initiative could allow it to achieve its goal of dominating the potentially lucrative market for mobile advertising and Location-Based Services (LBS).

Opening up handsets
Google recently announced the formation of the Open Handset Alliance, a multinational coalition of top technology and mobile communications firms. The Open Handset Alliance will focus on developing the Android software stack, a set of programs consisting of an operating system, middleware, a user-friendly interface and applications. Platforms based on Android are intended to deliver a superior user experience and improved Internet access compared to existing smartphones.

Perhaps the most significant aspect of Android is the fact that Google intends to offer the software to mobile-handset OEMs for free, or very close to free. This represents an alternative to existing software solutions like Windows Mobile, Symbian and various flavors of Linux, which incur considerable expenses for mobile-handset OEMs.

The smartphone market
Google’s announcement comes at a time when interest in such products has been stimulated by the arrival of Apple Inc.’s iPhone, which offers high-quality Internet access. Global shipments of smartphones are expected to rise to 324 million units by 2011, up from 124.3 million in 2007, according to iSuppli.

Google’s goal
Google’s goal with the establishment of the Open Handset Alliance is to become the main provider of LBS and mobile advertisements on wireless handsets, replicating its success in PC-based ads and location-oriented services like Google Earth.

Google’s interest in this area is so great that it may consider an acquisition of a provider of map navigation software. More at iSuppli.

Helsinki, Finland — Nov 06, ‘07 — Nokia would not rule out taking part in Google’s new Open Platform for Mobile Devices - Android - which is seen rivaling Nokia’s own plans, a spokesman for the world’s top mobile phone maker said on Tuesday.

“It’s not ruled out at all. If we would see this as beneficial we would think about taking part in it,” said Kari Tuutti, spokesman for Nokia’s multimedia unit. “We should never close any doors.”

Google said on Monday it would enter the mobile phone market, saying its planned mobile phone software may boost Web use on handsets but without threatening entrenched players. 

Analysts, however, said Google could have the means to disrupt the status quo in the wireless software industry, which is dominated by a handful of large phone makers and regional service providers that often tightly control customer choices.

Google’s plans pit it against companies such as handset leader Nokia, Microsoft , Apple and Blackberry maker Research in Motion. Nokia owns 48 percent of Symbian, whose operating system is behind almost three-quarters of the world’s smartphones. More at Reuters.

Cannes, France (Gartner ITxpo) – November 5, 2007 – Trend Micro today announced the latest version of its mobile device security solution, available to the market in December 2007. The release of Trend Micro Mobile Security (TMMS) 5.0, girded with data encryption and authentication, mitigates mobile security challenges such as security breaches and data leakage while allowing enterprise administrators to manage security for handheld devices from a single console.

TMMS 5.0 features new data encryption and authentication capabilities: If a mobile device is lost or stolen, the business-critical data contained in it is encrypted unless it is unlocked with a password. Data on devices that do not comply with policies can be wiped out by administrators. The anti-malware features block viruses, worms, Trojans and SMS text message spam. Built-in firewall and Intrusion Detection System (IDS) protects against hackers, intrusions and denial-of-service attacks – all potential threats to mobile devices.

TMMS 5.0 uses the OfficeScan Client/Server Edition (OSCE) 8.0 console which also manages medium business and enterprise PC and server security. By installing TMMS 5.0 onto their OSCE 8.0 console, existing customers use a single console to manage mobile devices, desktop PCs and enterprise servers. Customers not presently using OSCE 8.0 receive an OSCE 8.0 console license with their TMMS 5.0 purchase.

Trend Micro Mobile Security 5.0 supports multiple leading platforms such as Windows Mobile 5.0 (Smartphone.) Windows Mobile 6.0 (Standard Edition); Windows Mobile 5.0 (PocketPC.) Windows Mobile 6.0 (Classic and Professional); and Symbian S60/3rd Edition (Nokia E-Series.)

Pricing and Availability : Trend Micro Mobile Security 5.0 Standard includes antivirus, firewall, Intrusion Detection System, and centralized management. Trend Micro Mobile Security 5.0 Advanced adds encryption and authentication. TMMS 5.0 starts at $US35 per device while TMMS 5.0 Advanced starts at $70 per device with standard volume discounts applying. TMMS 5.0 Standard and Advanced for Windows Mobile 5.0/6.0, and TMMS 5.0 for Symbian/S60 3rd Edition (Nokia E-Series) will be available in mid-December 2007. TMMS 5.0 Advanced for Symbian/S60 3rd Edition, which includes encryption and authentication, is planned to be available in the first half of 2008. More at Trend Micro here and here.

London and SCHAUMBURG, IL – October 15, 2007 – Sony Ericsson and Motorola today announced a definitive agreement under which Motorola will acquire a 50% interest in UI Holdings BV, the parent company of UIQ Technology AB, which is currently wholly owned by Sony Ericsson. Under the agreement, Motorola and Sony Ericsson will work together and jointly invest in the development of the UIQ open user interface platform. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. As previously announced, Sony Ericsson acquired UIQ Technology from Symbian Ltd in February 2007.

UIQ Technology licenses the UIQ open user interface and development platform to mobile phone vendors around the world. Motorola and Sony Ericsson are committed to further advancing UIQ as a strong, independent cross-vendor user interface for smartphones and media-centric phones. Today’s announcement should be seen as an invitation to other mobile device vendors to participate in the UIQ community, either as shareholders or licensees.

Motorola and Sony Ericsson also plan to significantly increase their cooperation and support for the UIQ developer program. More details will be unveiled to developers at a special event today following a media and analyst briefing.

Both companies have agreed that UIQ will be vendor and chipset independent. In addition, UIQ will be licensed on equal terms to all mobile device vendors in the industry. Sony Ericsson and Motorola are committed to expanding the shareholder base of UI Holdings to include other handset vendors.

Sony Ericsson and Motorola each have been UIQ licensees for many years and have launched several successful Symbian/UIQ based products including, the Sony Ericsson P1 smartphone, the new W960 Walkman® phone and the Motorola MOTO Z8. UIQ, offered the industry’s first touch-screen interface back in 2002, and now supports both QWERTY and classic numerical keyboard configurations as well as finger touch data input. UIQ’s single code base greatly simplifies customization for handset vendors, operators and third-party developers.

More at Sony Ericsson Press Release

Many, many years after the first Windows Mobile Touch Screen PDAs & Smartphones became available and four months after the most hyped iPhone, Nokia finally evolves S60 with ‘Touch Interface’. 

Symbian Smartphone Show, London, UK – October 16, 2007 — Expanding the platform with intuitive touch user interface, sensor technologies and complete web video experience. As Internet is entering into the core of mobile experiences, Nokia continues to implement new innovations for S60 on Symbian OS, the market leading smartphone software, to develop the best possible mobile experiences for people.

S60 touch user interface comes with support for tactile feedback, which means that there is a physical pulse and feedback when the user taps on the screen. Existing S60 3rd Edition applications will run on touch enabled devices unmodified. Tools will be made available for developers to further optimize the touch experience of their applications.

S60 will be the first mobile software platform to deliver the complete Web video experience as Flash Video will be integrated with the Web Browser for S60. This allows people to view on the go Flash-enabled Web sites and Flash Video, such as YouTube, as they would do on their desktops.

More at Nokia Press Release