Anti-Predator Bill Would Require Cameraphones to Make Sound

I’d call it something along the lines of “The Cell Phone Pervert Act.” Still, “Camera Phone Predator Alert Act” is pretty catchy, too. That’s the name of a new bill being pushed by New York congressman Peter King: It would require that cell phones make a sound when they’re used to take a picture.

This is similar to a law that currently exists in Japan, which came to light recently when Apple was told it must add a picture-taking sound to the iPhone in order to sell the handset in that country.

“Congress finds that children and adolescents have been exploited by photographs taken in dressing rooms and public places with the use of a camera phone,” states the bill. According to Wired, the bill, which was introduced earlier this month, has thus far failed to pick up much support.

How to Set Up the Nokia N95 with Windows 7 Device Stage

Nokia N95 Device Stage.pngPlug a device into your Windows Vista computer and–poof! Nothing happens. Plug a device into a Windows 7 machine, on the other hand, and a photo realistic image of it appears in your taskbar, where it lives permanently, offering you easy access to some common tasks, services, and information. Microsoft calls it Device Stage; let’s walk through what it does for cell phones like the Nokia N95.

Getting the N95 working properly took some legwork, because different drivers install based on which mode you connect the phone in. First, install Nokia’s Ovi Suite–the Music app isn’t compatible with Windows 7, but everything else is. Restart, launch Ovi, and plug in the phone. Then Select PC Suite as the connection method from the N95’s screen, and wait for device to finish setting up in Ovi. You’ll see the N95 icon in Ovi when it’s through. Then unplug the phone and reconnect it, this time selecting Media Transfer as the connection method from the device screen. Next bask in the glory.

But what does Device Stage do for the phone? After the jump, a full run-down on features.

Sprint Nextel Slashing 8,000 Jobs Before April

Telecom giant Sprint Nextel today became the latest in a long line of tech companies to announce massive job losses. The Kansas-based company plans to cut some 8,000 jobs by the end of March, in attempt to reduce labor costs by $1.2 billion over the course of the year.

Of the 8,000 cuts, the company expects 850 to come as part of its “voluntary separation plan.” The company is also extending a freeze on salaries and suspending its 401(k) match for the year.

Motorola Cuts 77 in Windows Mobile Facility

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There may be some truth to the rumor that Motorola is planning to ditch Windows Mobile in favor of Google Android for its future smartphone line-up. A new Engadget Mobile report said that the struggling handset vendor just announced it is laying off 77 employees in its Plantation, Florida facility effective March 27th.

The report said that with these departures, Motorola will effectively end Windows Mobile development at the plant. Of course, the entire handset operation is in question, now that Motorola has announced it is cutting 4,000 jobs, 3,000 of which are coming from said cell phone division. Android or not, Motorola needs to get its act together, and fast.

Cellular Modem Sales Skyrocket: Study

Sierra_Wireless_USB_Modem_888.jpgThe cellular modem market took off last year with shipments hitting the 20 million mark, driven largely by carriers increasing their 3G service offerings, according to RCR Wireless News.

New data from analyst firm In-Stat said that the market is experiencing two major trends: Modem form factors are increasingly moving away from PC Cards toward USB modems, and embedded modems in laptops and other devices are becoming more popular. The firm went on to predict that embedded modem shipments will exceed separate cellular modems (of all kinds) by 2011.

“[Wireless carriers] continue to move forward with their mobile data subscription initiatives even as the economy suffers,” said said Daryl Schoolar, an In-Stat analyst, in the report. “This has put cellular modem manufacturers in a really nice place to be.”

Manufacturer Outs Windows Mobile 6.5 Home Screen

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There have been a ton of leaks of Windows Mobile 6.5 on the Internet, and Microsoft is widely expected to announce the new version of Windows Mobile on Feb. 16 at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona.

But today Windows Mobile 6.5 popped up on an official manufacturer’s Web site – admittedly, a small manufacturer who hasn’t yet successfully put out a product, but they’re a manufacturer nonetheless. On Compulab’s page for their new Exeda handheld they have a “Windows Mobile 6.5” tab, where they say, “To demonstrate just how friendly to developers exeda is, CompuLab software team brought-up Windows Mobile 6.5 Alpha on exeda the same day it was released.”


The Windows Mobile Professional 6.5 home screen shown replaces the standard “today screen” list and Start menu with a big grid of hexagonal icons, presumably easier to click with your finger than the old home screen. Compulab also showed an alternate home screen with some rather mixed-up-looking media player functionality.


Whether Compulab’s Exeda will ever hit shelves is a mystery, but we’re sure to hear more from Microsoft about Windows Mobile 6.5 next month. For larger pictures, see Compulab’s Web site.

Palm Not Shaken By Veiled Apple Threats

When Apple’s Tim Cook called out competition for “ripping off” its IP, people largely assumed the company’s temporary CEO was talking directly to Palm, with regards to its much buzzed about Pre.

“We like competition, as long as they don’t rip off our IP, and if they do, we’re going to go after anybody that does,” Cook told the press. “We will not stand for having our IP ripped off and we’ll use whatever weapons we have at our disposal [to make sure that doesn’t happen]. I don’t know that I can be more clear than that.”

Palm, for its part, doesn’t seem to be losing any sleep over Cook’s less than subtle assessment. “Palm has a long history of innovation that is reflected in our products and robust patent portfolio, and we have long been recognized for our fundamental patents in the mobile space,” Palm spokesperson Lynn Fox told All Things D. “If faced with legal action, we are confident that we have the tools necessary to defend ourselves.”

Handango CEO Joins FLO TV as President

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It looks like Qualcomm is shaking things up at its FLO TV mobile TV subsidiary. Former Handango CEO Bill Stone will become FLO TV’s new president, replacing Gina Lombardi, who ran the show for the last three years, according to Silicon Alley Insider.

Mobile TV has been a tough nut to crack, to put it mildly: just 2.1 percent of consumers in the U.S. watched programmed television on their cell phones, according to recent comScore M:Metrics data. MediaFLO’s broadcast mobile TV technology looks great on cell phones—essentially, it’s just like terrestrial televsion, instead of the “one-to-many” streamed services that bog down even 3G cellular data networks. But although FLO TV has yet to release subscriber numbers, it’s a given that they’re very low—few handsets come with the built-in tuners necessary to receive MediaFLO broadcasts, even more than a year after the service was switched on in the U.S.

My money is still on advertiser-supported, free mobile TV. Most customers simply don’t like the idea of paying $15 per month extra for on-the-go television—especially on top of existing voice and data plans, which aren’t cheap to begin with.

Ericsson to Cut 5,000 Jobs

Sony_Ericsson_Xperia_X1.jpgEricsson has announced that it will trim 5,000 jobs as part of continued efforts to streamline operations amid uncertainty in the world economy, according to the Associated Press. The move comes as the company reports strong global handset sales but weakened profits, even as Sony Ericsson (Ericsson’s handset unit) continues to lack a robust U.S. lineup.

Some analysts believe that 2009 could be a deciding year for the struggling handset maker, particularly with regard to the smartphone market. “The expectation of a sales slowdown in 2009 for Sony Ericsson in the European and Japanese markets means the company needs to build presence in markets such as North America where market share has historically been limited,” said Gartner research director Carolina Milanesi in a statement. “We believe that 2009 will be a deciding year for Sony Ericsson as it battles between profitability and market share growth.”

Last week, a 35-year-old man in Sweden was arrested after stealing a batch of prototype phones from Sony Ericsson’s Lund offices.

Study: Consumers Fear Cell Phone Upgrades

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A new study by Mformation Technologies Inc. confirms what we all already knew: upgrading your cell phone is a royal pain.

The report said that as many as 78 percent of consumers would upgrade their handsets more regularly if the setup process was “less painful,” according to Ars Technica. In addition, 88 percent of customers avoid trying out new cell phone features (like Web browsing and e-mail) because the setup procedures are too difficult, and almost two-thirds of respondents “stopped using mobile applications because they cannot solve problems with them.”

The research firm compiled the study from data gathered from 4,000 U.S. and U.K. cell phone customers. “According to the study, consumers feel that setting up a new mobile phone and getting confident in using it should take no longer than 15 minutes,” the report said. Instead, it usually takes about an hour, and most customers (78 percent) fear losing photos and address book data in the process.