MobileNest

Verizon Wireless, which is owned by Verizon, the largest landline carrier in the United States, and Vodafone, one of the world’s largest wireless carriers, is cutting the price of its evolution-data optimized (EV-DO) service by 25 percent.

EV-DO is a wireless communications technology that provides speeds of between 300 and 600 Mbps, or 10 times the speed of dial-up. EV-DO can work with cell phones, but it requires wireless providers to reserve large swatches of expensive wireless spectrum for data at a time when they are still having problems reliably accommodating the demand for voice.

Nokia announced that shipments of the new Nokia N90 have started in the Middle East and North Africa markets.

The Nokia N90 is packed with advanced camera features to capture great quality photos and videos. Some of the features include:

• 2 megapixel autofocus camera with integrated flash and video capture
• macro mode for sharp close-ups
• CIF resolution video capture of with on-device editing capabilities
• 352 x 416 pixel display with 262K colors
• Series 60 Symbian
• 31MB memory plus RS-MMC slot (64MB card included)

The Nokia XpressPrint solution gives users options in printing high quality images. The user can print images via PictBridge by directly connecting the handset to a compatible printer using a USB cable. The Nokia XpressPrint solution also allows for wireless printing over Bluetooth wireless technology, and furthermore, the MultiMediaCard (MMC) can conveniently be extracted from the side of the phone and inserted into a compatible printer.

Nokia said on Monday that it had established a research and development center for mobile infrastructure in China.

The sixth research and development unit in China will be used to develop mobile applications based on 3G and IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) for the Chinese and global markets.

Video enabled mobile phones are being used to deliver marketing messages by real estate agents. In one early application of the “permission marketing”, a real estate agent is using this new marketing way to allure new customers. A potential property buyer can send an SMS with a special code word to a number carried on a billboard showcasing a property, to order a slide show of the property.

The customer only pays for the original text SMS (Short Message Service); the cost of the MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) slide show is carried by the marketing campaign provider.

Japan and China will join forces to develop a fourth-generation mobile phones expected to come into practical use around 2010.

The fourth-generation mobile phones are expected to transmit data as quickly as optical fiber, taking the streaming of high-quality images to the next more desirable level.

China presents itself as the huge potential market in the deal. It had 334.82 million mobile phone users as of the end of 2004, representing 25.9 percent of its population.

Japan’s role is more in the technology, it has been at the forefront of third-generation (3G) telephones, which allow Internet service, online banking and other advanced features.

The deal has been struck between BBC Worldwide and mobile phone content company ROK Player to make popular shows available on mobile phones.

The first shows to be licensed are the Classic Dr Who special The Five Doctors and three episodes of Red Dwarf – Marooned, Quarantine and Cassandra.

“We want to give fans the opportunity to watch their favorite shows wherever they are. With ROK Player, the mobile phone is now an affordable portable media player”, ROK chairman Jonathan Kendrick