New agreement integrates satellite / cellular technology in mobile chip

September 22nd, 2008 by

SkyTerra’s Mobile Satellite Ventures, ICO Global Communications and Qualcomm have jointly announced today a partnership that could have far-reaching implications in the mobile realm. In short, the trio has agreed to “integrate satellite and cellular communication technology in select multi-mode mobile baseband chips,” which will essentially enable handsets to have “ubiquitous mobile communications coverage from anywhere in North America, including areas where traditional cellular service is currently unavailable or unreliable.” The release proclaims that this hookup will lead to satellite connectivity being in mass-market devices, but only time will tell how long it takes for compatible handsets to get adopted by carriers. Unfortunately, we do know it won’t happen prior to 2010, as that’s the planned ship date for the newfangled chips. Thanks for the heads-up, guys — but oh, how the tease hurts us.

[Via PhoneScoop]

Update: Images provided are of Mobile Satellite Ventures’ design concepts.

Gallery: New agreement integrates satellite / cellular technology in mobile chip

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Posted in Satellite, partnership, qualcomm, agreement, baseband, Cellular, sat phone, satellite phone, SatellitePhone, SatPhone, global, ICO Global, IcoGlobal, skyTerra | No Comments »

Modu mystery unravelled, look ma, a modular handset

February 6th, 2008 by

Filed under: Cellphones

Mystery solved, modu is of course, a modular cellular handset – the answer was in the name the whole time, clever. The fun begins with the idea that the actual handset can be slipped into “modu jackets” which let users completely change the look of their handset without having to replace it — we see the potential for way too much glittery gem-encrusted foolishness here. The other half of the deal is slapping the modu into different modu-enabled consumer electronics, or “modu mates” — think car stereos, photo frames, DAPs, and whatever else you can dream up. If we were betting types, we think modu is on to something pretty interesting here, and it seems with likes of Blaupunkt, Universal Music, and SanDisk already onboard, the Q4 launch might prove to be something special. We don’t have any pics showing detail or any technical specs handy just now, but rest assured, we’re going to be all over them at Mobile World Congress for more info.

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Posted in Cellular, modular, modu, ModuMobile | No Comments »

The 4G war: has WiMAX won, or will Verizon choose LTE?

October 29th, 2007 by

Filed under: Cellphones

In a wrap-up of the state of 4G networks over at BusinessWeek, the battle between the three competing 4G network standards — WIMAX, Long Term Evolution (LTE), and Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB) — is appraised, with WIMAX clearly edging out its other rivals. This could be a two horse race before long if Verizon chooses to back GSM’s successor LTE over CDMA’s sequel, UMB. That would leave Qualcomm without one of its most significant backers for CDMA’s spiritual sibling, although it’ll do just fine thanks to the multiple 4G patents it holds. Ultimately though, in all of this space there’s very little discussion about what the consumer wants: do we really need two or three different standards that probably won’t inter-operate, leaving us back at the square we’ve always been at? Frankly, for all the benefits that 4G is purported to bring, we’d like something a little more imaginative than the usual bickering amongst the big shots.