T-Mobile Unveils the New T-Mobile G1 in High-Tech Fashion With Star Studded Events in New York and Los Angeles

NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES, Oct 18, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- This week, T-Mobile USA, Inc. brought together Hollywood's hottest stars and New York's elite tastemakers to celebrate the highly-anticipated launch of the new T-Mobile G1, the world's first Android(TM)-powered mobile phone in partnership with Google. At the exclusive, invite-only launch events, held in the hip SoHo neighborhood of New York on October 16 and at a private studio in the heart of Hollywood on October 17, celebrities such as Rosario Dawson, Mischa Barton and Anthony Anderson turned out to get the first look at the much-talked about device and socialize with friends at the hottest bash on both coasts.

To celebrate the debut of the T-Mobile G1, T-Mobile created a special event that brought to life the device's unique technology and applications. Stars like Juliette Lewis and Brittney Snow were amongst the lucky guests to get hands-on experience with the T-Mobile G1 and experience some of the internet's most popular destinations including Google Maps and YouTube.

At the interactive event, guests were treated to a larger than life environment to traverse and explore complete with vivid cityscape projections emulating the experience of Google Maps Street View, where Nikki Reed and Perez Hilton visited some of their favorite destinations from the palm of their hand. At the nearby ShopSavvy exhibit, fashionistas checked out items on their shopping list and used the T-Mobile G1 to find where the items are sold before heading to the on-site Famima store to stock up on imported gourmet snacks. The popular YouTube video confessional booth also kept party-goers busy. They took time-out from dancing at the T-Mobile G1 turntables DJ request area to create personal video clips that were uploaded onto the video-sharing site and viewed on the T-Mobile G1.

The parties were highlighted by a special live musical performance from The Raconteurs, led by Jack White of White Stripes fame, who traveled coast-to-coast to play hits such as "Steady as She Goes." New York club-staple DJ Cassidy kept the East Coast's elite, such as Erika Christensen going all night, while in Los Angeles LA-based DJ Vice had Stacy Keibler and Bonnie Somerville, dancing throughout the evening. The A-list crowd also helped choose the night's music, using the turntables display to select songs and the T-Mobile G1 to text their requests straight to the DJ booths.

"Combining the best of a mobile phone and the Internet, the T-Mobile G1 with Google provides everything you love about the Web in a pocket-sized phone," said Andrew Sherrard, vice president, product innovation, T-Mobile USA. "The T-Mobile G1 will connect friends and families, while placing the benefits of mobile Web at their fingertips."

The T-Mobile G1 delivers a premium, easy-to-use mobile Web and communications experience in one device. The phone's vibrant, high-quality screen slides open to reveal a full QWERTY keyboard, great for communicating with friends online or using the phone's e-mail, IM and mobile messaging capabilities. The T-Mobile G1 comes equipped with a convenient trackball for more precise, one-handed navigation. The first phone to offer access to Android Market, the T-Mobile G1 hosts unique applications and mash ups of existing and new services from developers around the world. With just a couple of short clicks, customers can find and download a wide range of innovative software applications - from games to social networking and on-the-go shopping -- to personalize their phone and enhance their mobile lifestyle.* For more information, please visit http://www.T-MobileG1.com.

About T-Mobile USA, Inc.

Based in Bellevue, Wash., T-Mobile USA, Inc. is the U.S. operation of Deutsche Telekom AG's Mobile Communications Business, and a wholly owned subsidiary of T-Mobile International, one of the world's leading companies in mobile communications. By the end of the second quarter of 2008, 125 million mobile customers were served by the mobile communication segments of the Deutsche Telekom group -- 31.5 million by T-Mobile USA -- all via a common technology platform based on GSM, the world's most widely used digital wireless standard. T-Mobile's innovative wireless products and services help empower people to connect to those who matter most. Multiple independent research studies continue to rank T-Mobile among the highest in numerous regions throughout the U.S. in wireless customer care and call quality. For more information, please visit www.t-mobile.com. T-Mobile is a federally registered trademark of Deutsche Telekom AG.

Next-gen mobile: InfoWorld's preview guide

The Apple iPhone redefined a mobile device, bring real HTML, e-mail, and apps to smartphones. But after 18 months, the iPhone faces its first real competitors, which will begin shipping in late October. Apple's issues with its 2.0 software update, developer complaints over its highly controlled environment, and so-so enterprise support all give the competition an opening. InfoWorld assesses their relative merits, based on what we know today. Note that all support 3G networks, touch interfaces, accelerometers, and location detection services. Will the newcomers really deliver on their promises? We'll find out as they ship. Check back for our hands-on reviews.

Nokia Launches Touch Screen Mobile Phone

Nokia Corp released details on its new Nokia 5800 touch screen phone. The new smart phone will compete with the iPhone model by Apple Inc.

The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic has 8 GB of memory and is equipped with maps and satellite navigation. The multimedia phone will allow users to download music from the catalogs of Warner Music Group, Sony BMG Music, Universal Music and EMI Group.

The new mobile cell phone has all of the same features as the iPhone, except for the zooming navigation. Users can touch the zoom, but will not be able to zoom out by spreading their fingers on the touch screen.

Other features include built in GPS, 3G connectivity, and Wi-Fi capabilities for Internet. The mobile phone supports a full HTML Web browser and Flash Lite 3. The flash capabilities do set it apart from the iPhone.

The camera phone also features a 3.2 mega pixel camera with flash and tactile feedback.

Nokia needed a touch screen as other companies such as LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics and several smaller handset vendors have recently released their own touch screen phones.

Spaceship Cellphone Makes All Your Calls a Blast

Step aside G1, out of the way iPhone, I think I've found my cellular of choice. This little gem of a communication device was discovered by camera and I in a gadget shop in Causeway Bay. Written on the side of the phone was ?Shenzhou VII,? the name of China's third human spaceflight mission. Blam wanted to get it right away, but the shop owner asked an astronomical $180 for it. ?I bet my stars I can get it for cheaper in China,? I promised him as he reluctantly handed it back. A cursory search through taobao.com (the ebay of China) proved fruitless, but I did come across a Chinese site reviewing our stellar little handset. The Shenzhou VII mobile phone includes a 2MP camera, MP3 and MP4 capabilities, a microSD slot, USB, and?bet you didn't see this coming?astronaut themes. If anyone knows where to get this, please give me a holler! I don't want to end up looking like a space cadet in front of my boss. [Shanzhaiji]

ICE your cell phone safely

Most are unaware that if they were in an accident, first responders are not allowed to contact anyone listed in their cellular phone, at least not without I.C.E.

According to Oak Creek Police's Community Resource Bureau, the law states that no agency can give out personal information without consent. Even in emergency situations, first responders can't breach the privacy act. However, when I.C.E. is used it is considered consent.

I.C.E. is the acronym for In Case of Emergency. By placing the letters ICE in front of contact names, first responders will be able to contact those individuals if you were ever in a serious accident. For those desiring more than one I.C.E. contact, they can put in a number after the letters "Ice." For instance, to have your mom be the first I.C.E. contact, just type in the letters "Ice," then the number 1 in front of her contact name in your phone. That is all one has to do.

Although some who were polled at MATC's Oak Creek Campus already knew about I.C.E, others did not. Those who did know include Vince Cole (pictured above) and Laura Vazquez (chose to be not pictured). Vazquez stated that her phone had a feature that allowed her to add I.C.E to her contacts.

Jackie Spidell (pictured above alone), Katelyn Palok and Breana Kloppenburg (pictured together above) were not aware of the feature.

Palok and Kloppenburg both agreed it was a good idea. Kloppenburg stated, "It makes it easier for (first responders) to know who to contact." However, Kloppenburg added, "People should knew about it first."

Spidell had a different response. "It's stupid," she said, "because not everyone is aware. If it says 'home' or 'mom,' they should be able to call."

Menswear Prices Dip; Prada Launches Cell Phone

• Menswear prices dipped 0.4 percent in September even though experts thought inflation would drive them up. Shop on, men. [DNR]

• The London Design Museum is opening an exhibit next year dedicated to Hussein Chalayan's work. Pieces on display will include a dress created from Swarovski crystals and more than 15,000 LED lights called "Airborne" from the spring 2009 collection. [British Vogue]

• Heidi Klum is the latest face of milk, and the ad sounds genius: "Posing with a prize-winning milking cow, she wears a traditional Bavarian maid's outfit and pigtails in the image, which will debut around Halloween." [British Vogue]

• Prada is launching a second cell phone that's like an iPhone with a slide-out Qwerty keyboard. Get yours for $817. [WWD]

Google's Android might eventually make me a cellphone user

The phone is called HTC G1, the Google mobile operating system is Android. But it all ends up being called Google Android.

Lifehacker does a software review (A Hands-on First Look at Google Android), Gizmodo the hardware review (T-Mobile G1 Google Android Phone Review), and T-Mobile offers an Emulator you can play with to get a feel for it. David Pogue of the Times does the overview: A Look at Google's First Phone.

Sniffing comparisons to the iPhone in these reviews elude me, but I've never been tempted by one. I'm such a proponent of open source that Apple's proprietary everything has been a must to avoid.

I don't own a cell phone -- which astonishes people who assume I'm a tricked-out geek -- but later generations of this one might convert me: A keyboard, browser and lots of familiar Google apps might tip the balance, when there are more network choices than T-Mobile and a robust collection of Android add-ons.

Mobile-phone users now texting more than calling

''How r u'' has outpaced the more traditional, spoken greeting as a recent study shows U.S. mobile-phone users send and receive more text messages than telephone calls.

During the second quarter of 2008, the typical cell-phone user sent or received 357 text messages per month, while placing or receiving 204 calls, according to research by Nielsen Mobile.

Cell-phone users ages 13 to 17 sent or received an average of 1,742 text messages monthly during the second quarter, while taking part in 231 phone calls monthly on average.

Nokia Needs To Raise Its Game

If Nokia isn't going to match its competitors by slashing costs, it's got work to do to hold onto market share. Nokia (nyse: NOK - news - people ) blamed the price-cutting barbarians at the gate for a 2.0 percentage point drop in its market share in the third quarter to 38.0%, and for a decline in earnings and sales over the year. The cell phone maker said it had decided not to match "aggressive" pricing from some competitors, and bemoaned competition overall--even in entry-level markets, where it has seen homegrown rivals eat into its power base. "We said we would not participate in the aggressive pricing competition in the third quarter and I believe that the decision was correct and will repay us in the long run," Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said. Nokia said third-quarter sales had fallen by 5.4% to 12.2 billion euros ($16.5 billion), with earnings down 30.5%, to 1.1 billion euros ($1.5 billion). The company said it would preserve or slightly increase its market share in the fourth quarter, and guided toward a slight annual increase for the industry's unit sales in 2008. Its shares fell 2.0% to 11.55 euros ($15.48), at the close in Helsinki on Thursday, improving on the 5.2% drop posted by the Dow Jones Euro Stoxx 50 index. Over in New York, the Finnish firm's U.S.-listed shares were up 9.7%, or $1.46, to close at $16.57. "Nokia's unit volumes and average-selling price disappointed," said Tero Kuittinen, an analyst with Global Crown Capital. "But it's an oddly triumphant moment, because the handset operating margins were rock solid at 18.6%." He said that Nokia would overall be more resistant to profitability pressures during the upcoming recession than its main rivals. Part of the positive reaction was due to Nokia managing expectations with last month's warning. But even taking into account the global economic slowdown, Nokia is failing to defend its market share on all fronts, as competitors slash prices and look for chinks in the global leader's armor. Although analysts didn't think Nokia was in danger of losing its crown as the No. 1 manufacturer in the industry, it clearly has work to do to try and recapture lost ground. According to Mats Nystrom, an analyst with SEB Enskilda, Nokia will have to improve its high-end smart phone offerings in order to drive sales and earnings growth. Nystrom told Forbes.com that in 2009, the smart phone segment would represent well over half the total handset market in dollar value. That means coming up with snazzy new models with touch-screen technology, an area sorely lacking in Nokia's portfolio. Meanwhile, Samsung, LG and Apple (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people ) have seized the opportunity to capture more sales, even as the whole industry suffers from a spending slowdown in developed markets. Gartner Research analyst Carolina Milanesi said that even Sony (nyse: SNE - news - people ) and Ericsson's joint venture had benefited from price tweaks, despite suffering from its exposure to a softening.

Cell phones make life tough for pollsters

Sure, I was sucked in by the main story about how some polls show the presidential race as much closer than others. But what really captured my attention was the technology issue that was behind some of that variance.

Historically, pollsters have dialed random house phones to get their selection of voters. The problem is that more and more people, particularly young adults, don't have a landline.

The difference can be significant, as pointed out by a Pew research study last month. The organization conducted three separate polls--in June, August, and September. Each time, the difference between cell phone users and landline voters represented at least a 10-point swing (in Barack Obama's favor among cell phone respondents). The blended result was obviously more muted, but still showed a meaningful bump for Obama as compared with landline-only polling.

To be sure, the cell phone issue is just one of many complicating factors for pollsters this year, including how to weight party affiliation and other decidedly non-tech issues. Anyway, I thought the cell phone issue was one worth some attention.

Motorola splits

In a clear move to keep Motorola’s flagging mobile phone sales from pulling down its lucrative broadband and switching enterprise services the company is splitting into two publicly-traded organizations. The Mobile Devices company will focus on mobile handsets while the Broadband and Mobility solutions sector will work on secure voice and data communication along with broadband for enterprises and government.

Hong Kong shares end lower as banks, China Mobile hit by earnings worries UPDATE

HONG KONG (XFN-ASIA) - Share prices closed sharply lower, with the index again falling below the 15,000 level, as financials and China Mobile came under heavy selling pressure on worries about their earnings growth.

China Mobile slumped over 5 pct ahead of its third-quarter results, while mainland banks were sold off after China Merchants Bank flagged slower earnings growth earlier this week.

Local banks were pressured after news that they will buy back mini-bonds offered by collapsed US investment bank Lehman Brothers from holders at market value.

Oil producers CNOOC and PetroChina both fell more than 6 pct after crude oil price fell below 70 usd a barrel overnight on expectations that slowing global growth will reduce demand for energy.

US stock futures pointing to a weak open on Wall Street tonight led to a spurt in selling in the final minutes of trade.

Investors were also cautious as China will release third-quarter economic data, including GDP numbers, on Monday.

The Hang Seng index closed down 676.31 points or 4.44 pct at the day's low of 14,554.21, after moving to a high of 15,300.07. For the week, the index is down 242.66 points or 1.6 pct.

Turnover was 59.35 bln hkd.

Castor Pang, strategist at Sun Hung Kai Financial group, said mainland financials and heavyweight China Mobile suffered big losses towards the close during the auction trading session.

'China banks widened losses on worries that their earnings growth may be hit by more non-performing loans as more companies may close down due to financial problems,' he said.

Pang noted talk that China may urge banks to ease loan requirements and lower lending rates to help companies struggling with liquidity problems.

'China would rather hurt banks... to avoid bigger social problems like high unemployment rate and more shutdown of companies,' Pang noted.

Toymaker Smart Union Group has lodged a petition with the Hong Kong high court for a winding-up of the company. The company has shut three factories in China in a sudden move, due to rising costs and falling export orders from the US. About 7,000 workers are reportedly losing their jobs.

Media reports have also said hundreds of other firms operated by Hong Kong businessmen in China are closing down or on the brink of bankruptcy amid a deteriorating operating environment.

Dennis Poon, research head, South China Securities, said sentiment remained bearish as global recession worries persist.

Investors will keep a close eye on China's economic data, given fears that its growth is slowing due to weakening exports

'The local bourse is expected to remain volatile in the near term, responding to daily news flow,' Poon said.

Among large-caps, HSBC was down 3.3 hkd or 3.04 pct at 105.2, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing was down 3.0 hkd or 3.53 pct at 82.0 and China Life lost 1.4 hkd or 5.85 pct at 22.55.

China Mobile was down 3.70 hkd or 5.3 pct at 66.1 ahead of its third-quarter results, due Monday. Credit Suisse expects the telecoms giant to report 34 pct rise in net profit for the three months to September to 29.395 bln yuan.

China Mobile's rival China Unicom was down 0.70 hkd or 6.67 pct at 9.8.

China banks were sharply lower, with ICBC losing 0.2 hkd or 5.25 pct at 3.61, Bank of Communications down 0.38 hkd or 6.67 pct at 5.32, China Construction Bank down 0.25 hkd or 6.67 pct at 3.50 and Bank of China tumbling 0.2 hkd or 7.75 pct to 2.38.

China Merchants Bank was down 1.08 hkd or 6.92 pct at 14.52, extending yesterday's 7.69 pct fall after it signaled a decline in its earnings growth.

China Merchants, the mainland's sixth-largest lender, said Wednesday that it expects its net profit for the nine months to September to be up more than 80 pct over the same period last year under Chinese accounting standards.

However, that is well below the first quarter growth pace of 140 pct and the first half pace of 116 pct.

PICC P&C lost 0.05 hkd or 1.99 pct at 2.46 despite news that it has taken 32.35 pct stake in China Credit Trust, making the insurer the mainland's second largest insurance group after China Life.

Ping An Insurance was down 2.80 hkd or 7.31 pct at 35.5 after JP Morgan cut the target price for the stock to 54.2 hkd from 61.9, reflecting large downward revisions of earnings forecasts.

The brokerage cut its 2008 and 2009 earnings per share forecasts for Ping An by 92 pct and 35 pct, respectively, to factor in impairment loss on its investment in Europe's Fortis.

Ping An said earlier that it would book an investment loss of 15.7 bln yuan on its 4.99 pct stake in Fortis in third quarter results .

Among local banks, BOC Hong Kong lost 0.70 hkd or 5.98 pct at 11.0 and Bank of East Asia was down 0.65 hkd or 3.13 pct at 20.1.

Hong Kong banks will buy back mini-bonds offered by Lehman Brothers from holders at market value, as proposed by the government, the Hong Kong Association of Banks said.

Hang Seng Bank, which was not involved in Lehman minibonds sale, was also down 2.50 hkd or 2.3 pct at 106.0.

Fubon Bank (Hong Kong) was up 0.06 hkd or 3.55 pct to 1.75 following news that it is raising fresh capital by issuing shares that will be subscribed by its Taiwanese parent.

The finance sector index lost 1,164.66 points or 4.6 pct at 24,144.59.

Property developers reversed early gains, with the sectoral index finishing down 775.4 points or 4.68 pct at 15,807.37.

Cheung Kong lost 3.5 hkd or 4.67 pct at 71.5, Henderson Land was down 1.1 hkd or 4.06 pct at 26.0 and Sun Hung Kai was down 4.80 hkd or 7.08 pct at 62.95.

Local power utility CLP Holdings was up 1.05 hkd or 2.0 pct at 53.65 as investors sought out safe havens amid earnings uncertainty in other sectors.

Oil producers were sharply lower after crude oil fell below 70 usd a barrel overnight.

CNOOC was down 0.38 hkd or 6.21 pct at 5.74 and PetroChina lost 0.38 hkd or 6.03 pct at 5.92.

Refiner China Petroleum and Chemical Corp (Sinopec) was down 0.02 hkd or 0.38 pct at 5.21 after posting strong gains in the morning.

Metals and resources stocks continued their slide as commodity prices continued to slide on fears of reduced demand amid a global recession.

T-Mobile, Virgin broadband ads fall foul of watchdog

The Advertising Standards Authority's (ASA's) adjudication follows a complaint from a member of the public over a T-Mobile flyer that stated: "All the benefits of home broadband, on the move. No wires, no waiting, no worries". The ASA said the flyer may mislead consumers into thinking mobile broadband would deliver the same speed and quality as traditional home broadband. T-Mobile, however, said the leaflets referred to the capacities of mobile broadband, not its speed, and "maintained that they did not make any claim that implied a direct technical comparison to fixed-line broadband", according to the ASA. The ASA, however, disagreed with T-Mobile. "We understood that mobile broadband was unlikely to offer speeds comparable with those of a high-speed, fixed-line service and that, due to the technology's reliance on obtaining a signal from mobile-telephone networks, it could not guarantee the same continuity of service," the ad watchdog said in its adjudication. "In particular, we were concerned that activities such as streaming, downloading and online gaming were unlikely to be available to mobile-broadband users to the same standard as to fixed-line broadband users," the ASA added. Under the ASA's ruling, T-Mobile can't run the same ad in the future and must "avoid the implication that their mobile-broadband service was of a comparable standard to fixed-line broadband". Virgin Media also fell foul of the ASA this week over claims in an advert that its 20Mbps fibre-optic service is the UK's fastest, attracting complaints from members of the public and from Sky. The objections centred around whether the 'fastest' claim could be substantiated in light of other providers offering up to 24Mbps services, and whether the data used by Virgin to back up its claim was wide-ranging enough. Read this Q&A The future of 4G wireless, according to Ericsson The next generation of mobile wireless will happen — but what, how and when? Ericsson's UK chief technology officer looks ahead... On the former point, Virgin said it measured throughputs — which it said are a truer indicator of real-world speed — rather than maximum theoretical download speeds. On the latter point, Virgin noted that the data used in the ad, from Epitiro, covered ISPs with 90 percent market share of UK broadband between them, and Virgin added that it had several other sources, including benchmarks from Broadband Expert, that showed it to be the fastest. The ASA, however, upheld the complaints, saying in its adjudication: "We considered, however, that readers would be used to definitions of broadband speed in terms of download speeds and were, therefore, likely to understand the claim 'fastest' as an absolute claim that implied it was not possible to obtain a broadband connection in the UK that permitted a faster maximum download speed than Virgin's service." The watchdog added: "Because we understood that it was possible in certain instances for some customers, in optimum conditions, to obtain a faster maximum broadband download speed than Virgin's 20Mb service, we concluded that such an absolute claim was misleading." The ASA also concluded that, because the Epitiro data did not cover all ISPs and did not "evaluate all broadband providers' customer bases in a sufficiently random and significant way", it couldn't be used for comparative speed claims.

Auto Listings Go Mobile With New Chicago Tribune Service

CHICAGO, Oct 17, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Chicagoland car buyers can now get expanded information on specific cars of interest sent directly to their cell phones. The new Automart QuickFind service, which debuts today, is the Chicago Tribune Media Group's latest mobile classified offering.

"This program further solidifies the complementary relationships among our print, online and mobile product offerings," said Joe Farrell, vice president / sales operations for Chicago Tribune Interactive. "Now, car seekers can easily and instantly access rich information on a vehicle listed in the paper whether they're at work, home or on-the-go."

The new Automart QuickFind service lets readers text a unique WEB ID for a vehicle listed in the Tribune's Saturday Automart section and instantly receive on their mobile device additional information like photos, dealer contact information and driving directions.

"We are constantly looking for new ways to engage our readers across multiple platforms," said Kurt Mueller, senior manager / classified products. "Based on the success of our recruitment product, car listings were the next most logical classified vertical to expand into mobile."

Earlier this year, the media group launched the popular Careerbuilder QuickFind, which lets job seekers text in to receive detailed information on listings in Tuesday's Business section and RedEye, Chicago's free daily newspaper. The media group will soon launch a similar service for real estate listings.

About Chicago Tribune Media Group

Chicago Tribune Media Group publishes the Pulitzer Prize-winning Chicago Tribune as well as related print and interactive media serving Chicagoland like RedEye, Hoy, Triblocal, chicagotribune.com and metromix.com.

U Mobile’s incentives for subscribers

KUALA LUMPUR: U Mobile Sdn Bhd has launched several incentives to provide more great savings for its subscribers including free call offerings. The company said on Friday all new and existing prepaid and postpaid subscribers would enjoy free U Mobile-to-U Mobile calls and pay only one-sen per SMS when sending to any U Mobile subscribers. “The promotion offer period starts from Saturday to Dec 31, 2008 and subscribers will continue to enjoy the benefit of this promotion until March 31, 2009,” it said. It said the offer included Mobile Number Portability (MNP) customers who switch to U Mobile. It said with the “free call” incentive, subscribers could make free calls and send SMSes to all U Mobile subscribers without any additional activation or fees. All existing prepaid, U38, U68 and U98 subscribers would automatically enjoy the benefit from Saturday onwards. U Mobile said the incentive would benefit young mobile phone users, who were heavy SMS users and they would enjoy the low one-sen SMS.

Cell Phone New Cybercrime Frontline

Whether it's your iPhone, Windows Mobile device, Android, or BlackBerry -- you're probably using your smartphone more like a computer more and more. That's great, but the more your phone acts like a PC -- the more likely all of the problems associated with PCs will follow, researchers said today. Should you care?

We've been warning about the security of mobile devices for years, and years, and years. I've written so many stories about the security risks of mobile phones that I'm starting to feel like Chicken Little. So far, we've not seen a major virus or malware event. That doesn't mean it's not going to happen. The infamous Morris worm hit in 1988 -- and we didn't see a similar event at any time in the 1990s. Viruses were a problem, but they didn't become a really big humungo problem until the LoveBug overloaded e-mail servers in the spring of 2000.

These things don't always happen when we first expect them. But we can see the trend lines: more criminals are turning to cybercrime to steal, snoop, and destroy; and smartphones are growing exponentially in processing and storage power. We're also starting to see smartphones with more open, generative platforms, such asGoogle (NSDQ: GOOG)'s Android.

It's a safe bet to predict these two trend lines will cross, and criminals will turn to mobile phones to conduct all of the types of crimes they do on PCs and the Internet today. Predicting exactly when this will happen: not so easy.

Researchers contributing to Georgia Tech's Emerging Cyber Threats Report for 2009: Data, Mobility, and Questions of Responsibility Will Drive Cyber Threats in 2009 And Beyond, see the risks.

The comments below, from the report, are from Patrick Traynor assistant professor at the School of Computer Science at Georgia Tech:

According to Traynor, "malware will be injected onto cell phones to turn them into bots. Large cellular botnets could then be used to perpetrate a DoS attack against the core of the cellular network. But because the mobile communications field is evolving so quickly, it presents a unique opportunity to design security properly -- an opportunity we missed with the PC."

Traynor pointed out that most people buy a new mobile device every two years -- a much shorter life cycle than the typical PC and Windows installation, which is closer to 10 years.

"The short life cycle of mobile devices gives manufacturers, developers, and the security community an opportunity to learn what works from a security standpoint and apply it to devices and applications more quickly," said Traynor. "However, it is not going to be an easy problem to solve."

Tom Cross, X-Force Researcher with IBM (NYSE: IBM) Internet Security Systems, along with Traynor, cites Google's Android -- because of it's openness, it makes it easier for security vendors to build defenses for the device. On that, I agree. However, it also makes it much easier for malware authors, as well. Which means we'll be in the same PC security arms race we've experienced for more than 20 years now.

The ultimate solution is what both Traynor and Cross stated in their closing thought: a layered approach to security on mobile devices that encompasses carriers, manufacturers, and application developers.

That type of industry security synergy is exactly the best shot we have at ensuring smart phones don't become the battleground we're now fighting on PCs and corporate networks.

It's also expensive and difficult to get all of these constituents to work so closely together.

It may happen. But my prediction is that it's going to take a significantly enough nasty event for the industry to come together that tightly over security concerns.

Mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson swings to third quarter loss

STOCKHOLM, Sweden — Mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson on Friday said it swung to a loss in the third quarter, hurt mainly by weaker sales, continued price pressure on its handsets and negative effects from exchange rate fluctuations.

The LM Ericsson and Sony Corp. joint venture said it booked a net loss of euro25 million (US$33.6 million) for the quarter, compared with a profit of euro267 million in the same period last year.

It said it shipped 25.7 million units during the third quarter, which was lower than the quarter before but a flat development year-on-year.

The company said that although it expects the global handset market for 2008 to grow at a rate of around 10 per cent, from more than 1.1 billion units in 2007, it believes the industry average selling price will continue to drop.

Most of the growth is expected to come from emerging markets where the cheaper phones dominate, it said.

Sales dropped about 10 per cent in the July-September period, landing at euro2.81 billion (US$3.8 billion).

Sony Ericsson President Dick Komiyama said the quarter had "continued to be challenging."

He said the company's target to cut operating costs by euro300 million (US$405 million) a year by the end of the second quarter next year - with the full effects expected to appear in the second half of 2009 - "are progressing in line with expectations."

Evli Bank analyst Mikko Ervasti said that even though the mobile phone maker dipped into the red in the quarter, the results were still more or less in line with the market's expectations - or at least "less on the negative side."

The key, he said, was that Sony Ericsson had maintained its guidance for the global handset market.

With regards to the global financial crisis, Ervasti said he did not think the company would suffer a harsh blow in the shorter term, but may be hurt once weaker economic growth affects spending habits.

"It won't be the financial crisis so much in itself," as much as the impact on sales once consumers start adjusting their wallets to their own new economic situations, he said.

On Thursday, the world's largest cellphone maker Nokia Corp. posted a sharp drop in its third-quarter net profits and said its market share had shrunk to 38 per cent from 39 per cent in the same period in 2007 and from 40 per cent in the previous quarter.

The market share decrease was mainly due to weaker sales as rivals keep on cutting their prices, it said.

Ervasti said he believed Sony Ericsson counts among one of those price cutters.

Predators Use Cell Phones to Victimize Children

OPEKA, Kan. - Many parents have begun checking on their children's online activity to keep them safe from predators, but some may not be aware the danger has spread from the computer to cell phones.

The Kansas Attorney General's Office is aware of the trend and says it's something they've recently been working to raise awareness about.

"Cell phones are great in allowing parents to keep up with their kids in event of an emergency. But I think parents need to keep track of how dangerous they can be," said Attorney General Steve Six.

Predators are getting ahold of kids' cell phone numbers and sending pictures or texts to their phones.

"Kids need to be careful because even on sites like MySpace or Facebook, sometimes kids will put their phone numbers up there or put information up there that will allow people to get ahold of personal information to get a kid's cell phone number," Six said.

Six says it's important for parents to be aware of their kids' phone behavior, and help make sure they're not giving out their personal numbers to anyone but friends. Also, know what kinds of messages they're sending and receiving.

"Kids use shorthand letters and if you're not texting all the time, many parents don't even know what some of the messages say," Six said. "So you don't know if you should be concerned. With our Netsafe Kansas website you can look up acronyms and abbreviations and it tells you which kids are using in their text messages."

Another Cell Phone Health Worry

Well, even if cell phones won’t fry your brain like popcorn, there’s something new to worry about: “mobile phone dermatitis.” According to the British Association of Dermatologists, as reported by Reuters, there’s enough nickel in many popular mobile devices to cause a reaction in sensitive users. If you get an otherwise inexplicable rash on your face or ear, they say, you should suspect your cell phone. Apparently the risk is higher for women, who have more tendency to develop nickle sensitivity due to jewelry. The dermatologists cite some published studies in urging their members to take this possibility into account. They also tested a bunch of popular phones to find out which ones were risky: affected models include the Motorola Rzr and Q, the BlackBerry 8700c, and some Sony Ericsson models. The BlackBerry Pearl, Palm Treo 650, and Kyocera KX444 were among those with a clean bill of health. So how much should you worry about this? Probably not a whole lot. The incidence of nickel sensitivity in the general population runs around 8% in women and less than 1% in men; if you’re affected, you probably already know it. If you do end up with red skin and a rash on your cell phone using cheek, then it’s worth switching handsets - or just getting a bluetooth headset.

Sony Ericsson Posts Third Quarter Loss

As the global economy continues to sputter, Sony (NYSE: SNE) Ericsson saw its sales struggle and it posted a third-quarter loss. The world's fifth-largest cell phone manufacturer posted a net loss of about $33.7 million for the quarter. The company's sales were $3.7 billion, a decrease of 10% for the same period last year. More Personal Tech Insights White Papers * Information Leakage: What it is, and how Digital Rights Management (DRM) can Prevent it * Kleer Advantages Over Bluetooth Videos Panasonic showed off a 150-inch plasma TV at the Consumer Electronics Show. The company's extended display targets the mobile workforce with a larger screen for easier viewing. CBS College Basketball Announcer Discusses The Affects of Technology on The Game Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies introduces water-powered fuel cells that can generate enough power to recharge cell phones, music players, and even laptop computers. "As expected the third quarter has continued to be challenging for Sony Ericsson. We have moved forward with our plans to align operations and resources with the consolidation of R&D facilities into a more agile and cost-efficient organizational structure," Sony Ericsson president Dick Komiyama said in a statement. "We are committed to executing our alignment plan as speedily as possible to ensure we have the right size and organizational structure to return the business to healthy profitability." Unlike rival Nokia (NYSE: NOK), Sony Ericsson does not have a large line of basic, entry-level handsets that sell well in emerging markets like India and China. As such, the company is more susceptible to slipping demand for high-end handsets in mature markets. Additionally, the company saw its average selling price per handset fall to $146, down from $156 in the previous quarter. The loss is not unexpected, as the company previously warned that there would be tough business months ahead. Sony Ericsson is in the midst of a restructuring effort that will cut about 2,000 jobs and is meant to reduce operating expenses by about $403 million annually. The company said it has seen good sales with handsets like the C902 Cyber-shot, and it's awaiting the release of highly anticipated smartphones like the 8-megapixel C905 and the Xperia X1.

The Cell Phone Reaches Milestone 25th Birthday

The first commercial cell-phone call in the U.S. was made 25 years ago this week: Bob Barnett, then president of Ameritech Mobile Communications, placed the first commercial wireless Relevant Products/Services call from inside a Chrysler convertible at Soldier Field in Chicago, to the grandson of Alexander Graham Bell, who was in Berlin. The breakthrough had been a long time coming. Ten years earlier, Martin Cooper, widely regarded as the inventor of the cell phone, made a demonstration phone call to Joel Engel while walking the streets of New York. Cooper was then the general manager of Motorola's communications Relevant Products/Services systems division; Engel was his counterpart at rival AT&T Relevant Products/Services. But only in 1983 did the Federal Communications Commission approve mobile Relevant Products/Services phones. The first cell phone on the market, the Motorola DynaTAC 8000x, weighed 28 ounces (thus its nickname, "the brick") and had a retail price of $3,995. Little wonder, then, that in his 1987 film "Wall Street," Oliver Stone illustrated corporate raider Gordon Gekko's wealth, freedom and power Relevant Products/Services with a scene in which Gekko stands on a beach, phone in hand, giving a rapt description of the sunrise to his disciple, Bud Fox. In 1987, large numbers of the well-to-do had car phones, console-based affairs that gave one the unprecedented ability to conduct business while driving. But a phone that was not attached to anything at all -- well, in 1987 that was a billionaire's toy. Now, cell phones are ubiquitous, so much so that one might sometimes wish there were fewer of them. There are more than 262 million wireless users in the U.S. alone, and the industry's annual revenues have topped $140 billion. An entire generation has grown up using cell phones. An increasing number of consumers use them exclusively, going without a land line. Not even Superman bothers looking for a phone booth in which to change anymore. Instead of a nearly 2-pound brick, today's cell phone weighs as little as 3 ounces. And the price? Phones often can be had for free with the purchase of a service plan. Today's cell phones are not just for conversing. They take photos, capture video and browse the Internet. But what they mostly do is transfer text messages. From a user's perspective, it may well be described not as a telephone but as a voice-enabled telegraph. According to Nielsen Mobile, text messaging overtook talking as the primary use for cell phones in the fourth quarter of 2007, when the average mobile customer sent 218 text messages a month and made 213 phone calls a month. Since then, the gap has grown; in this year's second quarter, the average user sent 357 text messages in a month -- but made only 204 phone calls. The gap is largest among teens, who averaged 1,742 text messages a month, versus 231 phone calls. But it disappears completely among users 45 and older, who still use their phones primarily for the archaic purpose of talking to other people.

T-Mobile USA Further Expands Commercial 3G Network Availability in 2008

T-Mobile USA, Inc. continues to aggressively expand its third-generation (3G) wireless broadband service, announcing today that the company will launch 3G service in and around the Washington, D.C., area in late November. At that time, the number of locations with T-Mobile’s 3G coverage will amount to more than 120 major cities across the top population centers nationwide.

This week, T-Mobile 3G coverage launched in the Sacramento, Calif., area bringing the number of major cities currently served with 3G coverage to 92. Next week, communities in and around Memphis, Tenn., and Tampa, Fla., will be the latest to reap the benefits of wireless broadband service from T-Mobile.

"We’re excited about the broad scale and reach of our 3G footprint in major cities across the nation, already accessible by tens of millions of consumers. And today, where the majority of our customers use data services, our 3G network is there for them," said Neville Ray, senior vice president of Engineering and Operations, T-Mobile USA. "Our 3G footprint will continue to expand, and we look forward to continuing to deliver the rich experiences a 3G network can bring to T-Mobile customers.”

T-Mobile’s Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS)/High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) data network supports multiple 3G-capable phones available from T-Mobile, including the HSDPA-enabled T-Mobile G1 with Google, coming to select T-Mobile retail stores and available online on Oct. 22. The network can deliver download speeds of up to 1 Mbps; the faster speeds allow T-Mobile customers with 3G-capable handsets to take full advantage of new and emerging applications, such as the wide array of unique services accessible on the T-Mobile G1.

To view T-Mobile’s current 3G coverage including a complete list of major cities where 3G coverage is available, please go to the company’s Personal Coverage Check online at http://www.t-mobile.com/coverage.

About T-Mobile USA, Inc.

Based in Bellevue, Wash., T-Mobile USA, Inc. is the U.S. operation of Deutsche Telekom AG’s (NYSE:DT) Mobile Communications Business, and a wholly owned subsidiary of T-Mobile International, one of the world’s leading companies in mobile communications. By the end of the second quarter of 2008, 125 million mobile customers were served by the mobile communication segments of the Deutsche Telekom group — 31.5 million by T-Mobile USA — all via a common technology platform based on GSM, the world’s most widely used digital wireless standard. T-Mobile’s innovative wireless products and services help empower people to connect to those who matter most. Multiple independent research studies continue to rank T-Mobile among the highest in numerous regions throughout the U.S. in wireless customer care and call quality. For more information, please visit www.t-mobile.com. T-Mobile is a federally registered trademark of Deutsche Telekom AG.

Forward-Looking statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that reflect the current views of Deutsche Telekom management with respect to future events. The words "anticipate,” "believe,” "estimate,” "expect,” "intend,” "may,” "plan,” "project” and "should” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on current plans, estimates, and projections, and therefore you should not place too much reliance on them. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and are generally beyond Deutsche Telekom`s control, including, without limitation, those factors set forth in "Forward-Looking Statements” and "Risk Factors” contained in Deutsche Telekom’s annual report on Form 20-F filed on February 28, 2008. If these or other risks and uncertainties materialize, or if the assumptions underlying any of these statements prove incorrect, Deutsche Telekom’s actual results may be materially different from those expressed or implied by such statements. Deutsche Telekom does not intend or assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

Motorola's Razr Rules the Mobile Web

Know which well-known phone outsells the iPhone in the U.S.? I'll give you a big hint: This "other" phone has been around for some time, and more people use it to access the mobile Web than any other handset around. Give up? Say hello again to Motorola's (MOT Quote - Cramer on MOT - Stock Picks) Razr phone.

According to Information Week magazine and online rating company AdMob, the venerable Razr handset is still king.

For the past year, AdMob has been compiling a monthly report that keeps track of ad impressions, tallying each time a cell phone downloads an advertisement to its screen. The company does this for more than 5,000 Web sites that it monitors and can tell which cell phones are being used, and how often they're being used, to surf the Web.

In the most recent report, AdMob rates cell-phone browsing, and the iPhone doesn't even make the top six. Morotola's RazrV3, Krzr KC1, W386 and Z6m, along with Research in Motion's (RIMM Quote - Cramer on RIMM - Stock Picks) Blackberry Pearl and Palm's (PALM Quote - Cramer on PALM - Stock Picks) Centro all beat out the iPhone when it comes to the number of ads requested and viewed on the mobile Web.

In terms of hard numbers, the Razr weighs in at 8.7% of the mobile ad traffic, while the iPhone lags behind with only 3.2%.

Actually, those are pretty amazing numbers when you consider that the iPhone provides a much better Web browsing experience than the Razr. The answer probably has something to do with the fact that the Razr had a few years' head start, meaning a lot more Razrs are in service than iPhones. That could explain why more people are surfing the Web with somewhat ancient WAP technologies rather than with the iPhone's superior HTML browser.

I expect that as more and more people embrace the iPhone, Google's (GOOG Quote - Cramer on GOOG - Stock Picks) Android system (found on the G-1 from Deutsche Telekom's (DT Quote - Cramer on DT - Stock Picks) T-Mobile unit), Microsoft's (MSFT Quote - Cramer on MSFT - Stock Picks) Windows Mobile and Nokia's (NOK Quote - Cramer on NOK - Stock Picks) Symbian OS devices, those numbers should swing in the other direction.

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Nokia's iPhone killer a 2009 event

With touchscreen phones all the rage, and U.S. telcos following AT&T’s (T) lead of cutting the price of Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone, it would seem Nokia (NOK) will be left out of the smartphone party this year.

The Finnish phone giant won’t have its closely-watched 5800 phone - Nokia’s music-loaded take on the iPhone - available here until sometime in the first half of next year, according to people familiar with the phone. Nokia wasn’t immediately available for comment.

And even when it arrives, Nokia has lacked a big U.S. phone partner that would provide the subsidy necessary to put it under the $200 range. At full price, it will have a hard time making a big splash.

“You could look at it as having a 100% upside,” says Nielson IAG analyst Roger Entner, referring to Nokia’s measly share of the U.S. market. Make that a potential upside of 95.5% since Nokia’s slice of the U.S. market has now fallen a percentage point from year-ago levels to 4.5%.

These numbers were part of Nokia’s overall solid third-quarter performance reported Thursday. Nokia posted an adjusted profit of 44 cents a share, down from the 55 cents it netted last year, but in line with analysts estimates. Sales fell 5% to $16.4 billion from $17.3 billion in the year-ago quarter and below the $17.2 billion street estimate.

After hitting a new four-year low, Nokia shares rebounded a bit Thursday up 4% as investors took some confidence from the fact that it met estimates.

As Nokia predicted, its worldwide market share fell to 38% in the third quarter from 40% in the prior period. The decline, according to Nokia, reflects the company’s unwillingness to cut phone prices amid a heated price war in some regions.

Nokia has managed to grab and hold onto the No.1 phone supplier position by honing its skills at making low- and medium-priced phones for a global audience. This focus on the mainstream has caused Nokia to be consistently late to fashion trends like flip phones, ultrathin designs and now touchscreens.

After a strong start in the smartphone wars with over half the global market in 2007, Nokia has dropped to a 35% slice in the third quarter from 48% of the market in the second quarter, according to Morgan Stanley analyst Jim Dawson. The alarming sequential drop is a reflection of how strong rivals like Apple and Research in Motion (RIMM) have grown. The smartphone market will get a new challenger later this month with the arrival of Google’s (GOOG) Android-powered G1 phone at T-Mobile.

But while 2008 is not going to be a big year here for Nokia, the trends - aside from the slumping global economy - are promising overall.

Each player comes from with a different specialty to the smartphone market, says Entner. Apple and Google aim for a strong Internet experience and RIM’s BlackBerry Storm hopes to capitalizes on its successful e-mail background with a touchscreen design. “Nokia comes from a mobile phone approach,” says Entner.

“Nokia sees the phone as an integrated device.” says Entner. In the past three years, Nokia has acquired mobile e-mail shop Intellisync, GPS mapper Navteq and digital media delivery system Loudeye in an effort to control the delivery of services like e-mail, navigation, photography, music, videos, games and the Internet.

Of course, all this will matter more in the U.S. when Nokia can deliver the device.

Windows Mobile 6.1 Pushed to Samsung Ace

This QWERTY smartphone certainly shares some DNA with some of its Samsung brethren and now it's going to join the Windows Mobile 6.1 party as well. When you first purchased the Samsung Ace from Sprint, it was only loaded with Windows Mobile 6.0. You can now push that dated operating system aside. The Windows Mobile 6.1 update for the Ace brings about a series of bug fixes and it makes the device "more stable than ever." The new firmware update also brings about a completely unlocking of the integrated GPS chip found inside, so you can now use that functionality to find your way around town. No more excuses for getting lost, because you have access to Sprint Navigator or your choice of a third-party app. The Samsung Ace firmware update can be found through the Samsung Mobile website.

Choi Moves Samsung's Mobile Biz In New Direction

This is a year of cataclysmic shake-ups at Samsung Group, South Korea's No. 1 chaebol, or family-controlled conglomerate. Its chairman of two decades, Lee Kun-hee, and other senior executives, including Lee's son and heir apparent, resigned amid a scandal that seized nationwide atttention. But more quietly behind the scenes, business strategy and culture at Samsung Electronics, the crown jewel of corporate Korea, is shifting, too.

Take Samsung's cell phone business. The brand was known for pouring in loads of money and overworking engineers to crank out a plethora of high-end models. Since taking over the telecoms division last January, Choi Gee-sung, 57, has pushed the company to pump out low-end phones, investing in marketing and grabbing market share in emerging markets. This may prove a savvy, well-timed strategy, given the challenges of a global economic downturn.

Under predecessor Lee Ki-tae, Samsung Electronics (other-otc: SSNLF - news - people ) focused on pricey phones and crammed features onto them. Samsung was "focusing too much on cutting-edge technology, putting a lot of functions on the phone," said Peter Yu, a Seoul-based analyst for BNP Paribas. "Samsung phones were getting fatter and uglier," while competitors released sleeker, smaller phones.

But Choi, who previously ran Samsung's digital media business, was interested in something cheaper. "He has been trying to expand Samsung's handset business from high-end to low-end," said Seoul-based analyst Lee Min-hee at Dongbu Securities. Low-end phones, those retailing for less than $100, have become the biggest segment of Samsung's handset shipments, accounting for 40% of 46.4 million units sold in the second quarter, according to Yu.

The new focus has meant revamping three business strategies. First, low-end phones require lower-cost production. The company needs to produce more cheaply, which entails shifting production to China or Vietnam--despite South Korea's global reputation for economic nationalism. "Samsung is trying to increase its outsourcing of supply from local to overseas," Lee Min-hee said. Samsung does not disclose percentages of cell phone parts sourced to domestic versus overseas suppliers. "It's inevitable to relocate to China. It's the floor, the worldwide floor," Lee said, adding that other cell phone makers like Nokia (nyse: NOK - news - people ) and Motorola (nyse: MOT - news - people ) have done the same.

Second, it must sell much more of each model, to make up for the lower profit margins. Samsung "previously had too many models," said Yu. Now "they're selling far more volume per model." This entails investing heavily in marketing rather than competing on phone features. "Previously, the mentality was 'we make a good product,'" so Samsung let the phone speak for itself, Yu remarked. But Choi is "more of a marketing-driven kind of guy. Now they're really pushing out a product."

Finally, the company is trying to focus on emerging markets, where many people still do not have phones and can only afford low-end models. "Take China, for example, where an estimated 500 million people still do not own a phone. It's a similar story in India. Samsung has been taking share in both countries," noted Robert Lea, a Seoul-based semiconductor analyst for UBS.

The reorientation is a sound bet, given the likelihood of a global economic slowdown. "High-end phones are tougher these days," Yu said, adding that competitors like Motorola are moving aggressively into low-end phones for emerging markets as well.

Nokia Optimistic Despite Drop In Profits

Nokia saw a 30% drop in net income, but its outlook for the fourth quarter may soothe those worried about the economic slowdown hitting the mobile industry.

Nokia (NYSE: NOK) saw its third-quarter revenue and earnings drop, but the company said it expects the overall industry to be up for the next quarter.

The company saw its net income fall to $1.47 billion, down 30% from $2.1 billion for the same period last year. Sales were also down, hitting $16.4 billion. Like every phone company, Nokia has been feeling the pinch from the economic slowdown, and it also faced sluggish sales in Europe and the United States.

The phone manufacturing giant did ship 117.8 million phones in the quarter, a 5% increase year over year but a 3% decrease from last quarter. It also saw a dip in overall market share, going from 39% to 38%.

The drop was not unexpected, as the company warned it may lose market share in certain areas because it didn't want to engage in price-slashing like its rivals were.

"When we spoke about the aggressive competition in the third quarter, we decided tactically not to participate in the price competition," said CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo in a conference call. "We have a responsibility as the market leader, when the market leader moves, the market moves."

Despite the decreases, Nokia's outlook for the industry as a whole may soothe some who fear dramatic dips in the mobile industry. The world's largest cell phone manufacturer said it expects the cell phone volume to be up sequentially.

The company also said there were 44.2 million smartphones shipped in the third quarter, an increase from 31.7 a year ago. Nokia said it is well-prepared to capitalize on this increasing market with the upcoming release of the touch-screen 5800 XpressMusic, as well as its N and E Series smartphones.

Sony Ericsson units drop, losses widen

Sony Ericsson highlighted the mounting problems for incumbent phone makers on Friday with news of its summer quarter results. The carrier shipped a total of 25.7 million phones in the period, which ended in September; the figure is a slight 5.3 percent boost to its numbers from the spring but a slight loss from the same season a year earlier, dipping from 25.9 million phones in summer 2007.

The company has also reported a net loss equal to $33.7 million for the quarter and notes that the amount is both a drop from an $8.1 million profit in the spring as well as a significant reversal from the company's performance a year ago, when it generated nearly $359.5 million.

Sony Ericsson describes the results as "expected" and explains them as it has in previous quarters, asserting that shifts in phone sales to the lower end, as well as increased competition in Europe and elsewhere, are reducing the company's income and market share at the same time.

The reduced numbers give Sony Ericsson just 8.3 percent of the world cellphone market for the summer, according to Nokia estimates of 310 million phones shipped across the whole industry. While an increase over spring's 8.0 percent, it should represent a decrease from summer 2007. Sony Ericsson itself expects less still at exactly the same spring figure.

In spite of the decline, the cellphone maker has reasons to believe its results should improve in the fall. The company has just recently begun shipping the XPERIA X1, which stands as its first Windows Mobile phone, first full touchscreen device and first more direct competitor to very media centric touch handsets like the iPhone or the BlackBerry Storm just announced for Verizon, Vodafone, and multiple Canadian carriers.

Sony Ericsson also says it remains in the middle of a restructuring effort to improve the company's operations themselves and that it would have reduced or eliminated its losses without those expenses.

Improving cell phone reception

It was with some amusement I recently stumbled across T-Mobile's Personal Coverage Check, a service that claims you can "Check if T-Mobile coverage is right for you."

A quick digression: Ever wonder what the "t" in T-Mobile stands for? The answer is "Telekom" because the company is a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom. Curiously, I have always found German products to be of high quality with good customer service, but for some reason T-Mobile is different.

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Anyway, according to T-Mobile's mapping service I should have a signal strength of between three and four bars. Judging from my very precise measurements (that is, looking at my phone), reality is a little different, with my signal usually between zero and four bars and alternating between those states on a roughly 5-minute cycle. So far I have not been able to find an explanation as to why the signal strength should wobble around so much -- perhaps you have an answer and would care to enlighten me.

Actually when I write "between zero and four bars" I should qualify that with the phrase "until two weeks ago." These days the cycle has shifted so now about every 5 minutes I get four bars for about 30 seconds and then nothing, nyet, nada, for the rest of the time. Can customer service tell me why? No. Can they do anything about it? Hah!

Qik Launches First Live Mobile Video Streaming on Mass Market Phones

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Oct 16, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Qik, Inc., the live mobile video streaming platform, today announced that it is the first live mobile video product to launch on mass market mobile phones. Available today in alpha, Qik's service is now ready for use on more than a dozen Nokia and Sony Ericsson mass market mobile handsets. With Qik's free service, users can stream video live to the Internet in just two clicks from their mobile phone. Those watching the videos on the web can engage in live interactive chat with the person broadcasting.

"It's a real milestone for mobile technology that an advanced utility like Qik is now available on mass market cell phones," said Ramu Sunkara, co-founder and CEO of Qik. "We have been astounded by the use of Qik by smartphone owners, and are excited to see what mass market cell phone users will stream live to the Web."

Mass market cell phones include non-PDA and non-smartphone handsets which are more accessible to a much broader market of customers. These devices usually carry a lower price point than more advanced phones and have deep penetration in the global mobile market. Qik's software for these handsets is based on the Java Platform, Micro Edition, (commonly referred to as J2ME), the most ubiquitous application platform for mobile devices.

"Nokia is pleased that Qik's innovative live video service is now available for owners of Nokia feature phones as well as Nokia smartphones," said Tom Libretto, Vice President, Forum Nokia. "Qik's release for these phones adds an exciting new way for people to use an even wider variety of Nokia handsets."

Qik is initially launching in alpha on the following handsets: Nokia 5300, Nokia 6300, Nokia 6500 (classic and slide), Nokia 6555, Nokia 8800 Arte/Carbon Arte, Sony Ericsson G502, Sony Ericsson K660i, Sony Ericsson K850i, Sony Ericsson K858c, Sony Ericsson W890i, Sony Ericsson W908c, Sony Ericsson W910i, and Sony Ericsson Z750i.

Owners of the above devices can get Qik by registering at http://qik.com/. Support for these devices is expected to enter beta in the coming weeks, and support for additional Nokia and Sony Ericsson feature phones is expected soon after.

The Pope, Senator Barack Obama, Bono, and Steve Jobs are just a few of the notables to be streamed live to the web by Qik users in more than 150 countries. Journalists are using Qik to be more transparent in their reporting, and politicians worldwide are employing Qik as they campaign on a more engaging Web platform. Parents around the planet are easily sharing family events as they happen through Qik on their cell phones. With simple but robust software and a feature-rich site, tens of thousands of Qik users are streaming important moments live to the people with whom they want to share.

Qik, in addition to being the live mobile to web video service of choice for celebrities like Ashton Kutcher, is also delivering exciting footage shot by a wide selection of users across entertainment, business, sports, and technology. Recent Qik videos of note have included behind the scenes footage from Sarah Palin and Joe Biden's vice presidential debate, interviews with comedian Dane Cook, the launch of Apple's new notebook computers, and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's speech reacting to the global economic climate.

About Qik

Qik, the world's leading mobile live video streaming platform, currently available on nearly 70 cell phones, enables anyone to stream video live from their mobile device from anywhere, to anywhere. Its innovative, patent-pending technology enables anyone to share their moments live with their friends and family or the entire world. Notable events captured on Qik include the lighting of the Olympics torch from both inside and outside the Olympic stadium in Beijing, Ashton Kutcher's own Qiks from behind the scenes at Blah Girls, his new start-up, and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's speech reacting to global economic distress. Find additional Qik videos, including those streaming live, here: http://qik.com/.

Botnets on cell phones in 2009?

About 15 percent of all online computers are infected with bots, says a new report (PDF) on emerging threats for 2009 from Georgia Tech Information Security Center. And according to Patrick Traynor, assistant professor at Georgia Tech's School of Computer Science, "We'll start to see the botnet problem infiltrate the mobile world in 2009."

In Traynor's view, if botnets, or large networks of infected computing devices, gain a foothold on mobile devices, they could be used to create a distributed denial of service attack on the cellular network itself, inconveniencing thousands of cell-phone customers.

But the future need not be so dire.

"Because the mobile communications field is evolving so quickly, it presents a unique opportunity to design security properly--an opportunity we missed with the PC," he wrote in the report.

Most people keep their PCs and operating system for years, up to 10 years in some cases. Most people buy a new mobile phone every 2 years, on average.

"The short life cycle of mobile devices gives manufacturers, developers, and the security community an opportunity to learn what works from a security standpoint and apply it to devices and applications more quickly," wrote Traynor.

According to the report, researchers like Traynor expect standards for handset security to emerge within the next 12 months.

The report also called out four other areas of concern: greater prevalence of social-networking malware such as a recent botnet risk reported on Facebook, user-specific VoIP attacks such as the one presented recently at Toorcon, cyber-warfare such as the recent denial-of-service attacks against the nation of Georgia, and a maturing cybercrime economy like that in recent reports of "crimeware-as-a-service" packages for sale on the Internet.