Nortel, universities to drive 4G development

Nortel announced that it is teaming up with leading universities across the globe to drive 4G mobile broadband development for applications making use of video, mobile TV and other multimedia services. Nortel said it has expanded its relationships with the University of Waterloo in Canada, The University of Texas at Austin and the National Taiwan University in Taiwan. The company has also forged new R&D relationships with Mera Networks in Russia and Technische Universitaet IImenau in Germany. Nortel characterizes the forthcoming 4G era as one of “Hyperconnectivity”.

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Cell phone security has at least one flaw: People

People have always been the weakest link when it comes to protecting computers. The same applies to mobile phones.

Despite companies’ attempts to create relatively secure operating systems, trickery and social engineering continue to manipulate people.

For example, the Symbian operating system for mobile phones is “fairly secure,” F-Secure security expert Patrik Runald said last week. Yet security is a problem.

“All the malware we’ve seen so far relies on the user installing it themselves, bypassing three to four security warnings. So there hasn’t really been a flaw in the operating system,” he said.

Runald acknowledges that some problems may be caused by unclear instructions on the user interface. But by and large, he said, security problems are caused by people ignoring warning signs.

There have been a few instances in which cybercriminals disguised files to make them look like interesting shareware or freeware, but mostly he blames user ignorance.

“They think it’s about ringtones, games, wallpapers, videos–all good and fun things. But there are actually malicious things out there as well,” Runald said.

For instance, Bluetooth users may find themselves asked: “Would you like to install this program now?” When they click “no,” the question persists. Often they eventually end up choosing the other option out of frustration.

“That’s the reason why people get infected: because they repeatedly click ‘no’ and obviously ‘no’ doesn’t work and so they click ‘yes’ and they get infected,” Runald said. When faced with this type of scenario, he advises people literally to “just walk away.”

“Bluetooth has a very limited range,” he noted. So walk away and “then go into your Bluetooth settings and disable Bluetooth completely or make it hidden for all other devices.”

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Kids’ summer day calling increases by an hour

MVNO Disney Mobile released some interesting metrics from its recent “Cell and Tell” survey: 10- to 17-year-old mobile users spend an hour more on their mobiles during a summer day than they do on a school day. In the summer they spend some three hours and 45 minutes on their mobiles. About 44 percent of kids use texts as their primary form of communication. 52 percent have texted from a movie theater and 28 percent have texted from the dinner table. Within ten minutes of waking up, 26 percent of the kids polled say they send a text. Of course, 96 percent of respondents said they talk to their parents via mobile phone every day, while 20 percent talk to their parents at least five times a day.

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The 5 Wireless options.

1.  Trend:  Five short-range  technologies point to future of wireless Many industry insiders expect five short-range wireless technologies  — WiFi, ZigBee, Ultrawideband  (UWB), Bluetooth, and Near Field  Communications (NFC) — to  eventually merge into one network system that will allow enterprises  and users to set up and operate a  variety of local and personal area  wireless network applications. Here  is a quick run-down of these  technologies:

2. WiFi  — WiFi, or WLAN, uses the  802.11-family of wireless  technologies to create Wireless  Local Area Networks (WLANs).  While this technology was  developed to replace wired  Ethernet, is rapidly evolving into a  wireless broadband solution as well.  Advantages: High-data speeds and  rapid deployment. This technology  is already a market reality.  Disadvantages: Limited range,  channel interference issues, and  not necessarily well-suited for  smaller, personalized networks or  for wider-range networks.

2. ZigBee  — Low power, Low Rate  Wireless Personal Area Networking  (LR-WPAN) technology designed  for wireless automation and other  lower data tasks, such as smart  home automation and remote  monitoring. Advantages: Low power consumption, reliable, relative  cheap equipment costs.  Disadvantages: Low bandwidth  (usually under 250 Kbps) limits the  number of applications.

3.Ultrawideband (UWB)  — UWB is a high-speed wireless networking  technology designed as a cable  replacement for high-bandwidth  tasks, such as connecting TVs,  stereos, and other media  appliances. Advantages: High  bandwidth data speeds (up to 1  Gbps) and versatile application set  (can be used to network media  devices and PCs). Disadvantages:  Very limited range and possible  spectrum interference issues.

4. Bluetooth  — Bluetooth is the  “original” Personal Area  Networking (PAN) technology. It  was designed to allow different  devices to connect with each other, such as file sharing between cell  phones or wireless printing from a  handheld or a PC. Advantages:  Well-defined technology with  industry-wide support.  Disadvantages: Somewhat  expensive. It may be eventually  squeezed our by ZigBee for low  bandwidth applications and by  Ultrawideband for file sharing and  streaming media.

5. Near Field Communications  (NFC)  — NFC is a wireless PAN  technology designed for secure,  wireless contactless payments  (think of using your cell phone as a  wireless debit card). Advantages:  Relatively inexpensive and secure.  Disadvantages: Very low range and a limited set of applications.
   All five technologies have distinct  advantages and disadvantages,  but growing convergence in the  wireless market will eventually lead to network management solutions  that will allow these systems to  work together seamlessly. For more on the future  short-range wireless: – check out this  article  from  Reuters PLUS:  ZigBee products are almost ready for the marketplace.

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Near Field Communications (NFC).

Many consumers are hooking a  $100 Wi-Fi base station to their  broadband Internet modem.  Electronics companies in the Home  Working Group will build Wi-Fi into  their products so consumers can  stream Internet video and music to their televisions and music  systems.  Electronics makers are pushing two more short-range wireless  technologies, Bluetooth and Ultra  Wideband.  Ultra Wideband is a year away  from launch and, unlike Bluetooth,  can transfer vast amounts of data  between devices, which is needed  to stream video from a DVD  player or transfer pictures from a  digital camera to a computer.

 The devices have to be a few  meters apart, which means it will  not compete with Wi-Fi, which  covers a 100 meter radius.  Bluetooth is an energy-efficient  replacement of wire connections  for modest amounts of  information. It is used between cell  phones and peripherals such as  microphones, for hands-free  calling in cars and to control  industrial equipment, among other connections.  PROBLEMS  Bluetooth has been around the  longest, but problems with  interoperability between devices  have showed it is not enough to sell millions of Bluetooth-enabled  products. Consumers and wholesale buyers such as car makers are  frustrated that some microphones fail to work with certain phones.  Also, it is hardly intuitive how to  pair devices so that they can work  together.  Wi-Fi home networks can suffer  from similar problems. Hooking  one computer to a broadband  modem is something many  consumers manage, but adding  more boxes requires the computer network skills of the  technologically savvy.  Coming to the rescue is yet  another wireless technology, called Near Field Communications (NFC).  It is backed by Sony, Nokia and  Philips, while Visa is keen to use it  for secure wireless payment  systems.  Holding two devices a few  centimeters from each other  allows NFC chips to connect and  automatically execute all the  procedures that consumers find so  hard to do, such as pairing  Bluetooth devices, initiating  payment protocols between a  phone and a shop till or adding a  new product to a home network.  “There are strong signs that the  first commercial products will be  available in the latter part of this  year,” said Christophe Duverne,  marketing manager for  identification products at Philips  Semiconductors.  It will take a while before all these  technologies work seamlessly  together. In any case, the forest  of wireless standards needs no new additions.  Said Marino: “We have to stop  inventing new technologies, and  now innovate with what we have.”

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Motorola “concerned” about iPhone entering market

Motorola CTO Padmasree Warrior confessed to the Financial Times that she was “worried” about the effect of Apple’s iPhone on the mobile phone market. “I do worry about [the iPhone] because [Apple] is a great competitor; a very respectable, credible, tough competitor to have in the industry,” said Warrior. Despite the praise, Warrior predicted that the iPhone would appeal to a small part of the market; its Web browsing abilities would be limited by AT&T’s slower 2.5G network; and its finger touch screen would limit its appeal for rank-and-file smartphone users.

“I do not think there is anything that is a serious roadblock for us to have great products like the RAZR and reinvent the industry again and again and again,” said Warrior. “I think the RAZR2 will do that, I think the Q9 will do that.”

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