T-Mobile UK said that it will launch 3G mobile broadband for laptop users on a pay per day basis from November 1. Users will be able to log onto the web at 3G speeds via a T-Mobile USB modem and their laptop, without any monthly commitment, for £4 per day. T-Mobile has also cut the cost of its web’n'walk Plus and web’n'walk Max price plans. The Plus package, which allows you to browse, email, download, stream and instant message, has been slashed from £29 a month to £20. While web’n'walk Max, which has allowances for VoIP services like Skype, has been cut from £44 a month to £35.

UK based C3 is attending IBC for the first time to launch its Multimedia Video Studio – a software package that allows broadcasters to manager video calls received from Viewers’ 3G phones. The idea is that a viewer can become a roving reporter for the broadcaster. The broadcaster can monitor, store, edit and broadcast live 3G video calls as they are received simultaneously from many viewers – and interact with the caller.

The Multimedia Video Studio runs on C3’s SeTeCa multimedia platform. It answers each call, plays the file and puts it in a queue of incoming calls on the workstation. Each incoming video is displayed simultaneously on a laptop or PC in a series of mini screens. The editor or broadcast team can view them and decide if they want to talk to an individual caller. If so, they press a button to talk.

The editor can either review the footage on the PC or can send the live feed from the viewer’s mobile directly on airJohn Wood at C3 says: “ We are in talks with a number of broadcasters including GMTV and we understand that this meets their requirements very well. Unlike other systems, this allows the production team to monitor a number of simultaneous feeds at the same time.” The SeTeCa system can be expanded to provide as many lines – or channels- as needed to meet the level of incoming calls.

It provides facilities to manage and analyse callreceived from viewers: analysis by time received, call duration and it will manage the sending of responses. SeTeCa is short for “See it, Text it, Call it” and describes a multi-channel system that manages high volumes of incoming calls from fixed phone, mobile phone or email.

Evidence that mobile phones can interfere with vital intensive care equipment has been strengthened.More than half the hospital ventilators tested by Dutch researchers stopped working properly when a mobile was switched on nearby.

The government has said current bans on the use of mobile phones in hospitals can be relaxed. But the Critical Care journal study suggests it would be folly to do this in high dependency areas. A total of 61 different medical devices were tested, and the majority could be affected by the presence of a mobile.

In particular, nine intensive care ventilators were checked, and seven of these could be “influenced” by mobiles. Of these, six were described by the researchers as “hazardous”, involving a direct physical influence on the patient. Critical care monitors were also vulnerable, with seven out of 13 disrupted by mobile signals, while three out of seven syringe pumps were affected. Other devices which suffered problems were dialysis machines, external pacemaker machines, feeding pumps and even air humidifiers.

Close range threat “3G” mobiles were less likely to cause problems compared with second generation mobiles, and while, on average, the mobile had to be only a few centimetres away to interfere with the device, one “hazardous” incident happened at a distance of three metres. The researchers wrote: “The policy to keep mobile phones one metre from the critical care bedside seems warranted.”

Apple chief executive Steve Jobs has offered compensation to customers who have already bought an iPhone - after the firm cut $200 (£99) off the price. The company slashed the cost of the eight-gigabyte version of the phone - only available in the US - to $399.But this earned the wrath of some customers who have paid full price since its launch two months ago.

Mr Jobs said the price cut was the right move - but offered those who had already bought it a $100 voucher. “We want to do the right thing for our valued iPhone customers. We apologise for disappointing some of you, and we are doing our best to live up to your high expectations,” Mr Jobs said. For many the price cut slipped by unnoticed as the company unveiled a slew of new gadgets, including adding a touch-screen iPod to Apple’s popular line of portable music players. At the news conference, the firm also revealed that the four-gigabyte model of the iPhone was being dropped.

Cellular One from Dobson Cellular Systems, a subsidiary of Dobson Communications Corporation (NASDAQ:DCEL) and Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC), the world’s leading telecommunications supplier, today announced they have signed two contracts for hosted multimedia services: AnswerTunes, a ringback tones service and content downloads.

The new service AnswerTunes allows Dobson customers in more than 70 wireless markets to choose from a catalog of thousands of songs to replace the traditional ring heard by callers when they dial a number. On top of that they will also have access to a huge catalogue of content, including ringtones, games, images and video clips to download to their phones. The contracts are the third and fourth managed services hosting contracts Ericsson has been awarded by Dobson Cellular Systems since 2006.

Ericsson also provides Dobson with a hosted prepaid real time charging service including content and game downloads as well as Napster Mobile. The ringback tones service will be hosted on Ericsson’s innovative Service Delivery Platform (SDP). Thomas K. Roberts, Chief Marketing Officer for Cellular One, says: “We are pleased to partner with Ericsson to deliver AnswerTunes and downloadable content to our customer base.

Offering subscribers a wide array of value-added services has been a key differentiator for Cellular One.”Ericsson is providing an end-to-end ringback service, which includes systems integration, hosting and managing the day-to-day operations of the service.

Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) has signed a turnkey contract with Vodafone Netherlands to deploy the Ericsson Automatic Data Retention Solution (ADRS), bringing the operator in line with a new EU directive. This marks a world-first deployment of the Ericsson ADRS.Under the contract, Ericsson will deliver a turnkey solution - from systems integration to business support systems - for Vodafone Netherlands’ existing network.

The contract highlights Ericsson’s leadership in data retention solutions and its ability to deliver end-to-end expertise spanning products and systems integration. Ericsson’s solution enables operators to collect, store and deliver data in accordance with EU directive 2006/24/EC on data retention.

Under the directive, operators must store traffic data for up to 24 months. The directive is set to be incorporated into national laws by September 15, 2007, and will eventually become mandatory for all European operators.Fredrik Alatalo, Head of Ericsson’s Core and IMS product line, says: “This deal extends Ericsson’s long-standing relationship with Vodafone Netherlands, and the world-first deployment of Ericsson ADRS marks an industry milestone.

Ericsson’s end-to-end solution provides flexibility and scalability and is compliant with national regulations regarding data availability, integrity and protection.”Ericsson is shaping the future of Mobile and Broadband Internet communications through its continuous technology leadership. Providing innovative solutions in more than 140 countries, Ericsson is helping to create the most powerful communication companies in the world.

T-Mobile USA has gobbled up SunCom Wireless, looking to expand the country’s fourth-leading cell phone network into Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the heart of the Southeastern United States. You know, the former confederacy.T-Mobile, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom, will pay $1.6bn in cash for the regional wireless carrier and assume $800m in company debt.Spanning North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia as well as parts of the Caribbean, SunCom’s GSM/GPRS/EDGE network has provided roaming service for T-Mobile users since 2004, but T-Mobile now wants to merge the network with its own.

“The strategic fit of the SunCom operations will make this a near-perfect acquisition,” said Robert Dotson, T-Mobile president and chief executive officer, as you’d expect him to say. “It will round out our domestic footprint, allowing us to serve 98 of the top 100 markets, and will significantly benefit our financial position by reducing roaming expense. But our favorite quote comes from René Obermann, chairman of the Board of Management at Deutsche Telekom: “With the acquisition of SunCom, we will continue to implement our strategy to ‘grow abroad with mobile’, which is part of our overall group strategy,” he said. “At the same time we can realize significant synergies on the cost side and improve our market presence.

As a result, this acquisition will fit very well with our strategy to grow abroad with mobile primarily within our current footprint within the context of market consolidation.”

Motorola Inc., which is introducing 20 new cell phones as it tries to avoid slipping to No. 3 in the market, signaled its confidence Wednesday for strong holiday sales and said there are no further product delays in sight.

A year ago, Motorola’s holidays were spoiled by a parts shortage and resulting shipment delays that kept some of its first camera phones—already behind its competitors’—from being available during the biggest season for cell-phone sales.

With a sleek stainless steel design, the Nokia 6301 phone launched today is not only stylish, but offers consumers seamless voice and data mobility across GSM cellular and WLAN networks via Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) technology. The Nokia 6301 phone uses UMA technology to integrate the benefits of landline and a mobile phone, including seamless indoor coverage, sound quality and affordability.”The convergence of mobile and fixed/land-line technologies means consumers are looking for products that can help make their lives easier,” said Peter Ropke, Senior Vice President, Mobile Phones, Nokia. “With the Nokia 6301 utilizing UMA technology, worldwide triband GSM coverage is combined with superior indoor WLAN coverage to create a device that people can use in virtually any situation. With UMA technology, the consumer can use the GSM network or a broadband Internet-connected WLAN network for mobile services.

This can ensure excellent indoor coverage both at office and home. The consumer can have one multi-mode handset that works everywhere with enhanced and easy-to-use voice services. And, WLAN/UMA provides excellent coverage and sound quality, even in areas where mobile phone reception has previously been poor. With UMA technology, the Nokia 6301 benefits operators as well, allowing them to deliver voice and data services to subscribers over WLAN, substantially increasing mobile service availability while decreasing the costs related to network deployment.

Orange will be one of the first operators to offer the Nokia 6301, as part of its Unik/Unique portfolio.Yves Maitre, Senior Vice President, Devices, Orange said “The Nokia 6301 is a stylish new addition to our Unik range of converged fixed and mobile phones. Orange’s Unik offer brings together the convenience of a single phone and tariff at home and on the move and the widest range of UMA handsets. The Nokia 6301, with its sleek candy bar design and attractive stainless steel exterior adds to the appeal of Unik for Orange customers.”The Nokia 6301 is an evolution of the modern monoblock design. Weighing a mere 93 grams and measuring less than 13.1mm thin, the Nokia 6301 is constructed of quality materials.

To accompany the UMA technology, the Nokia 6301 also offers consumers a modern suite of features, including a 2 megapixel camera with 8x digital zoom and full screen viewfinder. Ideal for home and office, the Nokia 6301 comes with an attractive desk stand, the Nokia Desk Stand DT-23, to hold the phone and keep its battery charged while connected to WLAN. The clean lines and recessed buttons of the Nokia 6301 are highlighted by a stainless steel frame with hand-hugging curves. In addition, the Nokia 6301 includes:
- 2-inch QVGA screen
- USB/PC Synchronization
- Internal user memory of 30MB and 128MB in-box microSD card, with support for up to 4GB microSD cards
- Voice dialing, voice commands and voice recording
- MP3 player, FM radio
- Integrated hands-free speaker

The Nokia 6301 has a talk-time of up to 3.5 hours and a standby time of up to 14 days. The Nokia 6301 is expected to begin shipping to select markets in Europe during the fourth quarter of 2007 with an estimated retail price of 230 euros before subsidies or taxes.

It was announced today that Apple and Cisco have resolved their differences about the use of the name iPhone.

The problems arose when Steve Jobs announced the release of the Apple iPhone at the MacWorld convention. Cisco immediately came forward and claimed that they owned the trademark for the iPhone. They intended to distribute and Internet phone with that name.

While many of the terms of their agreement have been kept confidential, they have publicly stated that they can both use the name iPhone to market separate products.