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Fring brings VoIP to iPhone

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 06:59:56 -0400

Need to make a call on your iPhone but worried that you're going to use up all those precious minutes? Now there's a solution: Fring. The first native, true VoIP application for the iPhone, Fring doesn't require you to route your call through an analog VoIP bridge, like previous iPhone VoIP apps did. Using either SkypeOut or SIP, you can call landline/mobile numbers and you can even IM using Skype, Google, ICQ, MSN, Twitter, AIM, and Yahoo. Of course, you'll need a jailbroken iPhone to get in on the fun, but given the fact that Apple has vowed not to shut down VoIP over WiFi apps, we should see a legit version of Fring after Firmware 2.0 lands in June.

For more on Fring:
- see this press release

JetBlue's high-altitude WiFi

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 06:59:58 -0500

It hasn't been very long since the FCC first said "yes" to the idea of in-flight WiFi (at the same time they were saying "no" to in-flight cell-phone calls). Now, JetBlue is set to begin testing WiFi on a plane, albeit in a very limited way: on a single Airbus airplane on a single route across the country, JetBlue will allow Yahoo email and instant messaging, and activity from certain Blackberry devices. Limited bandwidth (with some market testing thrown in) is the reason for the limits--will this be the first in a long series of WiFi implementations in the air or as far as the WiFi experiment goes? Stay tuned.

For more on the JetBlue WiFi experiment:
- Read the news story at DailyTechRag

QUICKLINKS: Moving power; Recreational management;

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 06:59:55 -0500

> Mobile power from movement. Article

> Yahoo's new Asian search deals. Article

> Recreational management appliance. Article

> Palm apps for Nokia web pads. Article

Portals take usable focus

Mon, 08 Oct 2007 06:59:57 -0400

On-device portals (ODPs) may not be part of your everyday mobile vocabulary, but the odds are pretty good that they will be. These software portals are designed to make it easier for wireless users to gain access to the applications they need, and smaller vendors like Handmark and Action Engine are beginning to realize that they'll have to compete with the likes of Google and Yahoo. How do they plan to compete? Usability is the key, with functions and navigation aids designed to make it easier to reach web-based apps through the tiny screen on most wireless portable devices. It's not an easy task, given the differences in platform specifications, but it will make life easier and more interesting for most wireless users in coming years.

For more on the growth in ODPs:
- read the hands-on analysis at WirelessWeek

Google and Yahoo fight over phones

Sun, 28 Jan 2007 19:01:38 -0500

Google and Yahoo are making deals with carriers and handheld equipment manufacturers to bundle search capabilities and email clients into a new generation of mobile handsets. Their push into handsets--a push that will likely be followed by other portals and online application sites--is a recognition that mobile phones are a serious application platform for a growing number of consumers and businesses. Google's deal with Samsung and Yahoo's with Motorola may not influence your choice of handset or carrier, but they are likely early entries in the race to bundle applications with handsets, and a major step toward a wider view of handsets as serious application platforms.

For more on Google and Yahoo as they move into mobile:
- read the article at CIO-Today

QUICKLINKS: Why the iPhone isn't a big threat to the BlackBerry; Yahoo has big plans to be 'the' mobile portal; Much more...

Mon, 15 Jan 2007 19:01:35 -0500

Why the iPhone isn't a big threat to the BlackBerry. Article

Yahoo has big plans to be 'the' mobile portal. Article

San Francisco municipal wireless plans hit first hurdle. Article

The threats pushing managed mobile security into the spotlight. Article

Energy costs will push mobile operators to use WiMax and WiFi. Article

The expected evolution of fixed-mobile convergence. Article

QUICKLINKS: WiFi proves a marketing pull for Paris coffee shops; HP's new tiny chips boasts power and lots of different applica

Sun, 23 Jul 2006 20:00:50 -0400

> WiFi proves a marketing pull for Paris coffee shops. Article

> HP's new tiny chips boasts power and lots of different applications. Article

> A banner year for WiFi phone market. Article

> New Dell wireless card promises faster networking speed. Article

> The legitimate issue of overbuilding with municipal wireless nets. Article

> Yahoo is a "Go" for Motorola mobile phones. Article

> VoIP use brings "Day 2" support needs as well. Article