New Mobile Technology

Topics discussed in New Mobile Technology:
1. iphone 3GS owners to get credit toward iphone 4
2. Adobe releases Flash Player 10.1 for Windows, Mac and Linux, with Android coming soon
3. Ultra-thin, waterproof piezoelectric speaker promises much improved mobile audio
4. Fujitsu and Toshiba to fuse their cell phone operations
5. 4G for Cell phones and high speed internet

Read more to view details of above topics


iphone 3GS owners to get credit toward iphone 4:

1. If you were one of the AT&T subscribers who recently purchased an iPhone 3GS and went through each of the five stages of grief when you found out about the coming launch of the iPhone 4 (and the subsequent drop in price of the iPhone 3GS) don’t worry. There is hope. ModMyi.com is reporting that an internal
2. 
   ModMyi.com is reporting that an internal AT&T memo details plans to offer credit incentives to customers who recently purchased an iPhone 3GS 16GB/32GB through a local dealer between May 7th and June 7th.
   
3. 
   Those who purchased an iPhone 3GS between May 7th through the 14th will have until June 14th to visit the original location of purchase to receive a credit on their bill.
   
   
4. 
   Those who purchased an iPhone 3GS after May 14th will have 30 days to return to their place of purchase to receive a credit. The credit will be $50 for the iPhone 3GS 16GB and $100 for the 3GS 32GB.
   
5. If someone is looking for a credit toward the purchase price of an iphone 4 they can qualify if they purchased an iPhone 3GS between May 7th and June 7th. Customers will receive the full purchase price as credit toward the new iphone allowing them to only pay the difference in price to upgrade.

Adobe releases Flash Player 10.1 for Windows, Mac and Linux, with Android coming soon :

1. After months of development and beta testing, Adobe has finally released the latest non-beta version of its Flash Player, version 10.1, available now for Mac, Windows and Linux at Adobe’s website, with Android soon to follow.
2. The new runtime is notable in that it consumes less system memory than the previous version, and even has a fail-safe that will allow the player to shut itself off if it detects memory is running too low.
   
3. It can also prioritize the amount of processing power each instance of Flash sucks up, which should prevent your browser or even entire operating system from freezing up. As for security, the new Flash honors the rules of a browser’s private browsing mode by not caching any data.
4. 10.1 also supports hard-ware accelerated h.264 video decoding, better HTTP streaming, multicasting, a new buffering system, as well as support for multi-touch input surfaces., an absolute requirement if Adobe is going to manage to thwart Apple and remain a major player in the upcoming tablet and smartphone wars.

Ultra-thin, waterproof piezoelectric speaker promises much improved mobile audio:

1. The slender casing of a mobile phone, PMP, or even a tablet device, means that certain components do have to take a hit on quality in order to fit them inside the form factor. One area that has always suffered, especially on mobile phones, is the speaker.
2. 
   Although speaker technology is improving, there’s still barriers to how good the audio can be. What you may not have realized is this is partly due to the speaker being covered over to stop moisture entering and breaking components.
   
3. 
   Speakers are not waterproof, so manufacturers usually end up placing waterproof sheeting over the speaker holes therefore degrading the sound quality. Murata has solved that problem, though, by developing a waterproof piezoelectric speaker
   
4. 
   .The new VSLBP/VSLBF series speaker is ultra-thin at just 0.9mm thick, but also manages to pass IPX7 grade waterproofing. That means future phones purporting to be waterproof will not have to compromise on sound quality, and even manufacturers that aren’t aiming for a completely waterproof unit could utilize the new speaker to help protect against moisture damage.
   
5. 
   Murata hopes to see the new speaker used in mobile phones, portable music players, digital cameras, e-books, and IC recorders. Production of the speaker is already up to one million units per month allowing it to be supplied for any new device immediately.
   

Fujitsu and Toshiba to fuse their cell phone operations:

1. Two of Japan’s top handset makers, Fujitsu and Toshiba, are in talks to merge their cell phone operations within the next year, with negotiations having already reached “the final stage.”
   
2. If the rumor true, this is a huge indication that foreign smartphone manufacturers like HTC, Samsung and Apple are simply mopping the floor with the once-dominant Japanese cell phone manufacturing industry.
3. If the merger takes place, the joint venture will create Japan’s second largest cell phone maker with a combined 18.7% domestic market share following Sharp at 26.1%.
   
4. Currently the third biggest Japanese handset maker at 5 million handsets shipped in 2009, Fujitsu is expected to be the main stakeholder in the joint venture, with eight-place Toshiba playing back up.
5. This isn’t the first time this has happened in recent memory: on June 1st, NEC, Casio and Hitachi all merged their cell phone operations to become NEC Casio Mobile.
6. In both cases, the benefits to both parties are to reduce costs and boost competitiveness.
7. From a macro view, this spells trouble for the Japanese cell phone industry, which seems increasingly out-of-touch with the desires of the smartphone-toting public at large as they continue to focus on esoteric featurephones, and is under increasing pressure from foreign-made smartphones.

4G for Cell phones and high speed internet:

1. 4G is set to give us internet access on the move through cell phones and mobile broadband devices that could rival or exceed the speeds of fixed high speed internet providers according to US comparison sites Broadband Expert and Cell Phone Expert.
2.The company behind these comparison sites say that 4g speeds will allow users of mobile broadband to potentially reach speeds of up to 100Mb and will allow super fast mobile internet access on cell phones which will rival the speeds of the best fixed line high speed internet providers.
3. Whilst current speeds for most mobile broadband and cell phone connections (which are predominantly 3G, though 4G is available in some cities), are great for general web surfing they struggle to provide suitable speeds for activities such as downloading and watching movies online.
4. 4G should change all of this and with the launch of the iPad and the soon to be launched Dell Slate set to take advantage of this technology, cable and ADSL providers, which provide the primary internet connection for most households, must be looking nervously over their shoulders.
5. At present most consumers buying smartphones or mobile broadband do so as a secondary way to get online whilst on the move and have thus far had a negligible effect on fixed line high speed internet sales.
6. However, Broadband Expert believe this may be about change as the 4G network rolls out and consumers become ever more expectant of a speedy internet connection to always be within easy reach.