High availability software vendor, Neverfail, is looking to support other applications in the mobile space besides just email, new CEO, Peter Parker, has revealed.
The growing reliance on smartphones and wireless PDAs offers plenty of opportunity for Neverfail to identify more mission critical applications to protect, he says.
Neverfail already offers support for Blackberry users. It can protect not only RIM's Blackberry Email servers but also Blackberry Mobile Data System (MDS) applications. Neverfail's products are sold through 750 channel partners worldwide.
AsJames Reynolds, sales director at UK Blackberry and Neverfail reseller, Mobo Tel, explained, "As Blackberry deployments become larger and more complex, business continuity becomes even more important.
Neverfail allows us to deploy a disaster recovery solution which gives our customers added confidence, and as a result we've seen a marked increase in the size of our Blackberry deployments."
Peter Parker hinted that there are other mobile email solutions - besides RIM's which Neverfail should soon support. He wouldn't say if this involved products available from Visto, Good Technology or possibly even Nokia.
Neverfail's software approach to seamless failover and business continuity means that it can potentially protect virtually any application running on a Microsoft server. Parker refused to be drawn on exactly which product areas his company might target next but hinted that fax software could well be next on the list.
The company is also looking to productise its Scope diagnostic tool which monitors corporate networks looking for potential issues such as out-of-date NIC drivers. A Lite version of the product is available on the web site for customers to use to evaluate Scope's usefulness.
Exit Games has joined with Amobee Media Systems to enable mobile operators and game publishers generate additional revenue from in-game advertising.
"In-game advertising has a tremendous positive impact on the videogame industry, as it lowers the cost of games while dramatically increasing the number of downloads," claimed Tom Sperry, CEO with Exit Games.
Using Amobee's HAPI (Handset Application Programming Interface) SDK allows mobile phones to receive ads from Amobee's mobile ad-server. The SDK works for mobile phone games running on Java and Brew based handsets.
In the case of Exit's Neutron multi-player game, adverts are displayed on the player's screen during idle game time as well as dynamically in the game environment.
A player has the option of engaging with the advertiser to receive additional information, initiate a transaction, or can opt not to view the ads at all and continue the game as usual.
"Ad-funding has the potential to revolutionise the mobile gaming industry, "claimed Roger Wood, a senior vp with Amobee Media Systems. "However, consumer acceptance is the key to success and we firmly believe that the subscriber must see a concrete benefit in terms of the cost and quality of mobile content."
Exit says its Neutron powered games have been launched by over 100 carriers and portals in more than 50 countries, so the potential for ad generation is considerable.
The mobile phone industry's fad for producing the slimmest possible devices is pressuring the components sector to shrink stuff a small as possible. Cottyoning on, Sipex has introduced its first dual-channel LDO (Low Drop Out) regulator, the tiddly SP6265.
This new device is ideal for supplying mobile processors with core and I/O voltages, Sipex says. The SP6265 reduces height by offering a 0.6mm ultra-low profile package enabling designers to meet critical height requirements for ultra-slim consumer devices like phones.
The company claims the lower profile allows for board space reduction, package efficiency in the z-dimension, and overall system weight reduction.
The integrated dual-channel design also reduces the component count by removing the need for two separate devices. Additionally, the SP6265 is available in fixed output options from 1.8V to 3.3V thereby eliminating the need for an external resistor network.
Pricing for the SP6265 in a DFN-8 package is $0.75 or $0.70 for a TSOT-23-6 package in quantities of 1,000 units.
Ofcom, the UK telecoms regulator, is to go ahead and defy the EU over its policy
of enabling operators to recover the cost of their 3G licenses, according to a
report in the FT.
The dispute centres around how much the mobile operators can charge each other
for 'terminating' (connecting) calls made to their mobile networks.
Basically the EU's argument is that these termination charges are too high
because they are based on historic costs – what the operators had to pay for the
licences in the first place. Instead the EU wants the charges to be based on
current costs for running a 3G network.
The EU's view is too simplistic, of course. Governments of countries such as the
UK and Germany charged an absolute fortune for the 3G licences. In some EU
countries the licences were awarded for free and in others they were awarded as
the result of a 'beauty contest'.
So to try to insist that there is a 'true' cost for operating a 3G mobile
network across the entire EU is patently absurd. Mobile Insight wonders whether this move will set a precedent for another
EU vs Ofcom battle – namely over the high cost of roaming charges when
subscribers travel outside of their home market.
Roaming charges are well known to be a tithe the mobile operators place on their
subscribers to recover the cost of the 3G licences. Especially as the predicted
huge rise in revenues from data services over 3G never actually appeared.
Qualcomm's policy of vigorously defending its IPR and patents might well be
backfiring. At least, it appears to have lost a round in the fight against rival
Broadcom.
Broadcom appeared before the US International Trade Commission and asked for a
ban on mobile phones which incorporate Qualcomm's chips. The reason being that
it has apparently convinced the Commission that one of its own patents is being
infringed.
The patent involves technology that helps conserve cell phone battery power when
the handset is operating in W-CDMA or EV-DO modes. The judge initially suggested
just banning the relevant Qualcomm chips but Broadcom argues that it is the
handsets that contain them that should be barred.
Qualcomm's responses are mind-boggling. The company's lawyer, Cecilia Gonzalez,
argued, "They [Broadcom] don't compete in this [handset chips]. They're not
there yet." She seems to be implying that because the opposition doesn't sell
many chips, the infringement doesn't matter.
Stranger still are the arguments put forward by Verizon in Qualcomm's favour.
Scott McGregor, Broadcom's CEO, claimed the firm was "implying that the
infringement is too big, too widespread, and too profitable to stop."
One of the other arguments is that emergency forces are using EV-DO phones and
to stop them doing so would be dangerous? Eh? What are the emergency forces
doing using regular cellphones?
In a completely separate case, Qualcomm has been cleared of "inequitable
conduct" in obtaining two patents regarding the H.264 video standard. Qualcomm
is claiming Broadcom is infringing its patents over H.264 provision.
But the US Patent Office also said that Qualcomm did not meet the "unwritten IPR
disclosure expectations" of the relevant standard-setting group. In other words,
the Joint Video team (JVT) wasn't aware that the standard it was agreeing
included Qualcomm's patents.
Qualcomm is complaining that this decision is "unfair" since it can't guess what
it should disclose. How about all its patents that might be affected?
Nokia must be watching all of this and chuckling. It is using the same kind of
defences which Qualcomm has displayed against Broadcom against Qualcomm in
Europe. Mobile Insight's a bit puzzled as to why Broadcom and Qualcomm have
bothered to announce they are dropping some piddling little cases against each
other in San Diego when they're obviously still going hammer and tongs against
each other elsewhere.
The speculation over a potential buyer for Palm, the PDA manufacturer,
continues. One name put forward is Texas Pacific Group, the private equity
group. Another is leading handset vendor, Motorola. That's interesting as it
might be a move to prevent Nokia buying the company.
In Site of the Week (by Tony Dennis)
This week
Moistmob
The big news behind the launch of this
new WAP site, Moistmob, is that it will be 'hosted' by Tera Patrick. She's
described as the "first erotic supermodel to host a mobile portal." It's not
very clear exactly what tasks Tera has to carry out in order to 'host' the site
but at least her picture is up the top of the site. What's on offer via Moistmob
is very light blue and aimed at heterosexuals. Mobile Insight suspects
that another sister site called Knobmob will cater for homosexuals when it's
launched.
The site is run by Burst Mobile which is based in Leeds and uses Bango to handle
payments. When Mobile Insight accessed the site via 3, it was properly
protected from minors and required proof of age via a credit card or a phone
call.
