Supercharge Your iPhone With icloud and 100 GB Storage

icloud, the Online Computer, Today Rolls Out icloud Premium -- a Massive 100 GB of Secure Cloud Storage for Only $39.99 / Year

Everybody Can Now Access All Their Content Anytime and Anywhere

icloud Basic With 3 GB is Available for Free, and Open for Sign-Ups at http://icloud.com

Today's launch of icloud Premium and the 100 GB Super Drive will greatly extend all the amazing capabilities of icloud to the iPhone. The new premium service lets everyone store, access and easily share files through any smart phone or browser. It gives you 100 GB of storage right in your pocket. You will never again feel that you have forgotten to bring important files with you. icloud securely stores files like music, photos, videos, documents, and provides a full management interface and virtual desktop through a browser to organize and share all your content.
icloud launch movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQgdceh66EQ

Daniel Arthursson, icloud's Founder and CEO, says, "Having 100 GB directly accessible in your pocket through an iPhone or smartphone will definitely change how we use and interact with data. With the massive storage of the icloud Super Drive, everything will always be accessible, no need to bring your computer to do a quick PowerPoint presentation, just present it straight out of the cloud."
Facts about the icloud online computer:
* Secure cloud storage with backup accessible from any computer,
iPhone, Android or Windows Mobile phone
* Free basic version includes 50 applications like Office, Mail,
Music, Video, Instant Messaging and Games
* icloud Premium with 100 GB Super Drive now available for $39.99/year
* Community (my.icloud.com) and email @icloud.com
* Zero installation, runs within browsers
* Available worldwide in 26 languages and used in 170 countries
About icloud

Founded in 2001 by Daniel Arthursson, Xcerion provides the free icloud.com service, the world's leading "Cloud OS", a groundbreaking technology with 22 pending patents. Developers have API and tools to build their own cloud applications.

Xcerion is based in Sweden, privately held and funded by Northzone Ventures. Investors include Lou Perazzoli, architect of Windows NT and former Manager Microsoft Core OS and John Connors former CFO Microsoft. Xcerion is a Red Herring Global 100 winner.

TeliaSonera and Huawei Launch World’s Fastest Commercial Mobile Broadband Network with Huawei’s 4G/LTE Solutions

TeliaSonera and Huawei Launch World’s Fastest Commercial Mobile Broadband Network with Huawei’s 4G/LTE Solutions


Huawei, a leader in providing next-generation telecommunications network solutions for operators around the world, and TeliaSonera, the largest telecoms operator in Scandinavia and the Baltic countries, today jointly announced the deployment of the world’s first LTE commercial network in Oslo, Norway. These 4G services offer maximum speeds of up to 100 Mb/s and are approximately 10 times faster than existing 3G networks.

TeliaSonera’s customers will be the first in the world to enjoy simultaneous mobile broadband services such as high definition (HD) video conferencing in mobile environments and a variety of HD video programs via multiple terminal devices; applications that cannot be realized in current 3G networks.

Mr. Kenneth Karlberg, President and Head of Mobility Services TeliaSonera, said: “We are very proud to be the first operator in the world to offer our customers 4G services. Thanks to the successful cooperation with Huawei, we can offer 4G to our customers in Oslo earlier than originally planned.”

As a leading provider of end-to-end 4G/LTE solutions, Huawei delivered both network infrastructures and services to TeliaSonera, such as access network, core network, operation support system, and network planning and optimization. Its field proven fourth-generation base stations and SAE (System Architecture Evolution) solution ensure the stability of the network and enable fast deployment.

Yu Chengdong, President of Huawei Europe, said: “In partnership with TeliaSonera, Huawei began this journey eleven months ago to introduce the world’s most advanced mobile broadband technology to the residents of Oslo. This milestone, which was achieved in a short period of time, reflects Huawei’s unwavering commitment towards accelerating the commercialization of LTE/SAE solutions. Operators such as TeliaSonera, are now able to to fully realize economic benefits from the many new applications that can only be made possible with ultra broadband services.”

To date, Huawei has constructed over 25 LTE commercial and trial networks and has made more than 3,300 LTE/SAE contributions to 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project).
About Huawei

Huawei is a leader in providing next generation telecommunications networks, and now serves 36 of the world’s top 50 operators, along with over one billion users worldwide. The company is committed to providing innovative and customized products, services and solutions to create long-term value and growth potential for its customers.

AIS LAUNCHES THAILAND’S FIRST “FACEBOOK &TWITTER ALERT” CUSTOMERS “MENT” AND “TWEET” RIGHT ON AIS MOBILE PHONE

AIS connects the world of social network smash, Facebook and Twitter, to every AIS mobile phone, introducing Thailand’s first Facebook &Twitter Alert on mobile phone service in response to the popularity among new generation, receiving and posting messages online (“Ment” and “Tweet”) through quick and convenient real time SMS. Never miss any movement of the communities, expanding the territory of online social network to wireless world on mobile phones obviously accessing every user group (Mass)


Mr. Pratthana Leelapanang, Assistance Vice President – Value Added Service of AIS, disclosed “Now the surge of Social Network becomes the remarkable phenomenon in the online world, especially on the sizzling websites Facebook and Twitter occupying a multitude of members resulting in exponential increase of Internet connects and breaking limit to access mobile phone service. During the past 2-3 years, the growth of Social Network has caused the increase of data use. There are over 65 million worldwide users of Social Network on mobile phones at present. However, the Social Network access through mobile phone has been restricted to only the Smart Phone group.

To expand Social Network to every user group (mass) for unlimited connection to community groups anytime and anywhere, AIS develops the latest service, Thailand’s first “Facebook &Twitter Alert” on mobile phone via SMS allowing users of every handset registered on AIS network to receive “Ment” messages from friends or “Tweet” from the ones you follow on a real time basis and post messages, images and other functions such as Comment, Status Update, Add Friend and Update Tweet through SMS from your mobile phones to online world immediately. Users can identify friends’ name or their follows.

Besides, check out the highlight Twitter Express service that enables AIS users who are not Twitter members to “Follow” the one they want to follow, simply from the recommended Twitter list of interesting persons and top follows including various gurus, artists, stars and celebrities.

We are convinced that the service “Facebook &Twitter Alert” will complete lifestyle of mobile phone users from new generation to stay tuned to their society even more closely.”

AIS customers may see more details and apply for the service through Wap Portal by pressing *900*9# and calling out to get URL link to the Social Network page and select Facebook or Twitter service as desired for the following service rates;
Facebook* Twitter
Member fees Free Trial 7 days Free Trial 7 days
(Receive message) 9 Baht / week 9 Baht / week
(for unlimited messages) (for 10 received messages / day
and 1 Baht/message for excess messages)
Status Update fees 2 Baht / SMS 2 Baht /SMS
(Send message) 6 Baht / MMS
* Service on December 15, 2009

- According to the statistics, there are about 1.34 million Facebook members in Thailand with over 5 million viewers. Thailand is in the 4th ranging of Facebook growth (1st Taiwan, 2nd Vietnam and 3rd Philippine). Regarding Twitter, there are 600,000 members with over 1.2 million followers.
- There are over 6 million AIS Mobile Internet users at present.
- There are about 100,000 users of Facebook on mobile phones.
- There are about 30,000 users of Twitter on mobile phones.

Webtel.mobi's World-First Intercontinental Crossing by Jet-Wing Attracting Huge Global Interest

Specialized Mobile Provider's Challenge website goes live in 20 languages to cater for worldwide public and media interest


Specialized Mobile Provider Webtel.mobi's World First intercontinental crossing by jet-wing, scheduled for 24 and 25 November 2009, is attracting huge public and media interest from all over the globe.

To cater for the huge amount of interest, Webtel.mobi is making a version of its Webtel.mobi Intercontinental Challenge, website live in 20 languages, and will be providing live commentary on its global internet webcast in six languages.

The event is being staged to physically illustrate how Webtel.mobi's unique mobile phone service connects the world in a new and innovative manner, by connecting the African and European Continents in a similarly unique and unconventional manner.

The Challenge will take place on Wednesday 25 November, and a Challenge Rehearsal will be done on Tuesday 24 November - including an actual Helicopter Search & Rescue rehearsal from the North Atlantic Ocean by retired Special Forces Operators.

Both The Challenge flight on 25 November, and the Helicopter Search & Rescue rehearsal on 24 November, will be broadcast live for free and unrestricted pickup and use by any TV stations, and an international live internet webcast will be broadcast over Webtel.mobi's Challenge Viewer on their Challenge website.

Photos and images for free and unrestricted use will be uploaded to the Photos & Images section of The Challenge website on both days, and comprehensive arrangements have been made to assist any media who want to attend this event, or get free TV footage from it.

Full Challenge information, Media Resources, and details of the worldwide webcast can be seen on the Webtel.mobi Intercontinental Challenge website at http://www.challenge.webtel.mobi
Webtel.mobi Intercontinental Challenge website Languages:

English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish, Russian, Turkish, Arabic, Hindi, Urdu, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Malaysian, Korean and Filipino.
Challenge Live Commentary languages:
English, German, French, Spanish, Italian and Chinese
About Webtel.mobi:

Webtel.mobi is a Specialized Mobile Provider whose innovative service is available from all web-enabled mobile phones, on all networks, in all countries. It has the largest geographic coverage of any specialized mobile provider in the world. Its call and text rates are up to 80% less than networks' standard costs. Info on the Webtel.mobi product is available at http://www.webtel.mobi/pc and the service is available from any web-enabled mobile phone at http://www.webtel.mobi

Apple passes Nokia as most profitable phone maker

       The world's two largest mobile-phone makers, Nokia and Samsung Electronics, unveiled on Tuesday their latest rivals to the iPhone as Apple became the top profit generator in the handset industry.
       Apple Inc overtook Nokia in the September quarter as the mobile-phone maker generating the highest total operating profit in the industry, research firm Strategy Analytics said.
       Nokia said on Tuesday it had started deliveries of its top-of-the-range N900,while Samsung Electronics Co Ltd announced it would launch its own open mobile platform, bada, in December as it tries to make up for a late start in the smartphone market.
       Nokia and Samsung together sell around 60% of all mobile phones globally,but they have lost some ground to Apple and Research In Motion Ltd, maker of the BlackBerry.
       The N900 model is the first Nokia phone to run on the Linux Maemo operating system, which analysts see as key for Nokia to regain ground in the coming years.
       "The Maemo platform, which powers the N900, reflects Nokia's need to replace its legacy software platforms with something more powerful to compete with Apple and others," said Ben Wood, head of research at British consultancy CCS Insight.
       "Samsung's announcement of bada shows it has also identified the same requirement. The big question is, does the mobile phone world need yet another operating system?"
       While Nokia has lost ground in the smartphone business, it is still the world's largest smartphone maker by volume.Samsung's volumes are well behind Apple, RIM and HTC Corp.
       But measured by profits, Nokia lost in the third quarter against Apple, which entered the mobile-phone market only in mid-2007.
       Apple does not break down its profits per business line, but Strategy Analytics estimated Apple's operating profit for its iPhone handset unit stood at $1.6 billion in the third quarter, compared with Nokia's $1.1 billion.
       "With strong volumes, high wholesale prices and tight cost controls, the PC vendor has successfully broken into the mobile phone market in just two years,"said Alex Spektor, an analyst at Strategy Analytics.
       Apple sold 7.4 million iPhones during the July-September quarter, generating sales of $4.5 billion. Nokia sold 108.5 million phones in total in the same quarter, generating sales of 6.9 billion, but its profits were hurt by the economic downturn.
       Global sales of mobile handsets will snap a four-quarter losing streak in the last three months of the year as the industry is buoyed by economic recovery,a Reuters poll of analysts showed on Tuesday.
       Sales are expected to rise 3% in the fourth quarter as the Christmas period brings a brighter end to a year in which sales are forecast to fall 6.9%, the poll of 31 banks, brokerages and research firms showed.
       While the broader handset industry has struggled, smartphones sales have boomed and analysts have forecast the smartphone market will grow 20% to 30% this year.
       But there are signs that increased competition is starting to put pressure on margins and put some companies on the defensive.
       This week, the world's No.4 smartphone brand, HTC, said it expected fourth-quarter revenue to plummet almost 15% from the same period a year earlier, as the intense rivalry forces prices down.
       Strategy Analytics said growth in the smartphone market slowed to just 5%in the third quarter from 17% in the second quarter.
       "On the supply-side, a weak lineup from Nokia, the industry giant, has helped to keep a cap on growth," said Neil Mawston from Strategy Analytics.
       "On the demand-side, consumers have been buying huge volumes of highend feature phones with touchscreens from Samsung and LG and many consumers seem happy for now to go without full app-store support," he added.

SAMSUNG, LG KEEN TO PROMOTE SMART PHONES

       LG Electronics' chief executive Nam Yong said that LG's main competition was not Nokia but smart-phone makers Apple and Research in Motion.
       His remarks last week show how eager the No 3 handset maker is to raise its profile in the smartphone market.
       LG suffered falling sales in North America, one of its key markets, in the third quarter because of the expansion of the smart-phone market led by Apple and Reserach in Motion.
       Despite their leading positions in the handset industry, LG and it Korean rival Samsung Electronics have a limited profile in the rapidly growing smart phone market.
       The two companies hold a combined share of less than 4 per cent in the global smart-phone market, even as their total share in the handset market tops 30 per cent, according to IDC and Shinhan Investment.
       Some analysts said their failure to expand into the smart-phone market would limt their growth. The smart-phone market is expected to grow and account for 20 per cent of the handset market next year, from 16 per cent this year, according to Gartner and Shinhan Investment.
       Korean handset makers are closely working with operators to boost their weak smart-phone sales and better compete with Nokia, Apple and Research in Motion. They have also launched smart phones powered by various operating systems including Windows Mobile and Android.
       "Apple has its own smart-phone business model, which is not welcomed by wireless opeators," said Jay Yoo of Korea Investment & Securities.
       "Samsung and LG have no choice but to cooperate with operators ... It is an inevitable choice, but not a bad one."
       LG says it will spend heavily to develop competitive smart phones.
       "We plan to release about 10 smart phones powered by Windows Mibile next year," an LG spokesperson said, adding that the company has not decided on how many smart phones it will roll out next year.
       He said LG had previously focused on the Windows Mobile operating system, but that it is now focusing on both Windows Mobile and Google's Android operating system.
       Samsung, the world's No 3 handset maket, also seeks to take on Apple and Research in Motion in the smart-phone market, in which the Korean company holds a 2.7-per-cent share.
       Samsung has introduced a series of new Omina smart phones in September, and plans to double the number of its models next year.

iPHONE ARRIVES IN CHINA WITHOUT KEY FEATURE

       Apple's iPhone is making its long-awaited formal debut in the world's most populous mobile-phone market, without a key feature and at higher prices than widely available black-market models.
       Apple's local service provider, China Unicom, hopes the iPhone will give it an edge against giant rival China Mobile, the world's biggest phone company by number of subscribers.
       Unicom was to start selling iPhones equipped for third-generation (3G) services last week at 2,000 stores in areas as far-flung as Tibet. Chinese news reports said Unicom hoped to sell 5 million iPhones in three years, but the company declined to confirm that.
       Unicom's first iPhones lack WiFi, a possible handicap with sophisticated, demanding Chinese buyers. The technology, a key part of the iPhone's appeal, allows owners in other markets to use wireless networks in cafes and offices to download e-mail and the latest applications, free of charge.
       "There's going to be a perception that the phone they have is 'dumbed down' from the one that somebody has in California," said Duncan Clark, the chairman of Beijing-based technology-research firm BDA China.
       "We've seen before that Chinese consumers don't like to be treated like second-class citizens."
       Apple and Unicom could also face competition from an unusual source: unlocked iPhones brought in from abroad that have WiFi.
       There are already an estimated 1.5 million to 2 million such phones in China using China Moile's 3G service that allows Internet access and other features.
       Unicom's prices range from 4,999-6,999 yuan (Bt24,500 to Bt34,300) for the high-end, 32-gigabyte iPhone 3GS. That is 20-per-cent more than the 5,700 yuan charged by merchants at Chinese street markets for a 3GS with WiFi.
       The iPhone's awkward, delayed entry into China reflects the regulatory and technical hudles of a fast-changing market where other global technology companies have struggled to establish themselves.
       Unicom's iPhones lack WiFi because it was temporarily banned by Beijing, which was promoting a rival Chinese system, BDA said. The ban was relaxed in May after manufacturing had begun.
       A Unicom spokesman, YiDifei, said the company hoped to have WiFi in the next batch of phones.
       "We are talking with apple and expect the problem to be solved by the end of this year," Yi said.
       The iPhone debuted in the United States in June 2007, but its formal arrival in China was delayed as Apple negotiated with service providers. Chinese media said the talks were snagged on disagreements about how revenue should be divided.
       China has more than 650 million mobile-phone accounts despite an average annual income of only US$3,000 (Bt100,000) per person. Consumers trade in phones as often as several times a year to obtain the latest models and features.
       China Unicom has 143 million modile accounts, which would be an impressive figure in any other market but lags far behind China's Mobile's 508 million accoutns.
       Global technology companies that dominate other markets have struggled to obtain a foothold in China. Search engine Google has less than 30 per cent of the market, against more than 60 per cent for local rival Baidu. Yahoo turned over its Chinese operation to a local partner after failing to expand its market share.
       China's state-owned phone companies were restructured by the government into three groups last year in hopes of reviving competition after the explosive popularity of mobile services turned China Mobile into a behemoth.

Magnificent seven

       In the most important, most revered event since the invention of the brontosaurus trap,Microsoft shipped the most incredibly fabulous operating system ever made; the release of Windows 7 also spurred a new generation of personal computers of all sizes at prices well below last month's offers.The top reason Windows 7 does not suck: There is no registered website called Windows7Sucks.com
       Kindle e-book reader maker Amazon.com and new Nook e-book reader vendor Barnes and Noble got it on; B&N got great reviews for the "Kindle killer"Nook, with dual screens and touch controls so you can "turn" pages, plays MP3s and allows many non-B&N book formats, although not the Kindle one;Amazon then killed the US version of its Kindle in favour of the international one, reduced its price to $260(8,700 baht), same as the Nook; it's not yet clear what you can get in Thailand with a Nook, but you sure can't (yet) get much, relatively speaking, with a Kindle;but here's the biggest difference so far,which Amazon.com has ignored: the Nook lets you lend e-books to any other Nook owner, just as if they were paper books; the borrowed books expire on the borrower's Nook in two weeks.
       Phone maker Nokia of Finland announced it is suing iPhone maker Apple of America for being a copycat; lawyers said they figure Nokia can get at least one, probably two per cent (retail) for every iPhone sold by Steve "President for Life" Jobs and crew via the lawsuit,which sure beats working for it -$6 (200 baht) to $12(400 baht) on 30 million phones sold so far, works out to $400 million or 25 percent of the whole Apple empire profits during the last quarter;there were 10 patent thefts, the Finnish executives said, on everything from moving data to security and encryption.
       Nokia of Finland announced that it is one month behind on shipping its new flagship N900 phone, the first to run on Linux software; delay of the $750(25,000 baht) phone had absolutely no part in making Nokia so short that it had to sue Apple, slap yourself for such a thought.
       Tim Berners-Lee, who created the World Wide Web, said he had one regret:the double slash that follows the "http:"in standard web addresses; he estimated that 14.2 gazillion users have wasted 48.72 bazillion hours typing those two keystrokes, and he's sorry; of course there's no reason to ever type that, since your browser does it for you when you type "www.bangkokpost.com" but Tim needs to admit he made one error in his lifetime.
       The International Telecommunication Union of the United Nations, which doesn't sell any phones or services, announced that there should be a mobile phone charger that will work with any phone; now who would ever have thought of that, without a UN body to wind up a major study on the subject?;the GSM Association estimates that 51,000 tonnes of chargers are made each year in order to keep companies able to have their own unique ones.
       The Well, Doh Award of the Week was presented at arm's length to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development; the group's deputy secretary-general Petko Draganov said that developing countries will miss some of the stuff available on the Internet if they don't install more broadband infrastructure; a report that used your tax baht to compile said that quite a few people use mobile phones but companies are more likely to invest in countries with excellent broadband connections; no one ever had thought of this before, right?
       Sun Microsystems , as a result of the Oracle takeover, said it will allow 3,000 current workers never to bother coming to work again; Sun referred to the losses as "jobs," not people; now the fourth largest server maker in the world, Sun said it lost $2.2 billion in its last fiscal year; European regulators are holding up approval of the Oracle purchase in the hope of getting some money in exchange for not involving Oracle in court cases.
       The multi-gazillionaire and very annoying investor Carl Icahn resigned from the board at Yahoo ; he spun it as a vote of confidence, saying current directors are taking the formerly threatened company seriously; Yahoo reported increased profits but smaller revenues in the third quarter.
       The US House of Representatives voted to censure Vietnam for jailing bloggers; the non-binding resolution sponsored by southern California congresswoman Loretta Sanchez said the Internet is "a crucial tool for the citizens of Vietnam to be able to exercise their freedom of expression and association;"Hanoi has recently jailed at least nine activists for up to six years apiece for holding pro-democracy banners. Iran jailed blogger Hossein "Hoder" Derakshan for 10 months - in solitary confinement.

Nokia rebuffs Samsung claim

       Nokia has shrugged off claims by Samsung that it is destined to overtake Nokia's long-established leadership in the local mobile handset market this year.
       The South Korean manufacturer said recently that it now held 30.5% of the Bangkok market, against 28.7% for the Finnish company, based on a survey by the market research firm GFK. Nationally,Samsung had a 27.5% share compared with 33% for Nokia.
       Samsung expressed confidence that it would overtake Nokia nationwide this year with a 35% share.
       "The claimed figure is impossible based on the fact of our handset import volume to Thailand," said Shumit Kapoor, general manager of Nokia Thailand.
       He said GFK stopped gathering data about mobile phone sales in Thailand in June because the proliferation of Chinese branded handsets in markets outside Bangkok made it harder to get accurate figures.
       "We're on an increasing trend in business with a strong market share, and confident of maintaining our leadership this year," Mr Kapoor said.
       Performance has been helped by a recent restructuring of its distribution network, he added."We expect to continue the upward trend next year."
       Mr Kapoor said overall handset demand in Thailand was expected to grow only 1-2% this year from last year's 9 million units. But market value would be flat as prices are falling.
       Worldwide handset sales declined 6%in the second quarter, according to Gartner. But smartphones sales grew 27%year-on-year to 40 million units.
       Mr Kapoor said he expected next year would be better locally, building on the improvement seen in the third quarter as the economy began to revive.
       He also said the touchscreen-phone market in Thailand had grown rapidly this year, thanks to more affordable prices and mature quality.
       Touchscreen-phone sales in Thailand have surged by 400-500% this year, and the increase is set to continue in 2010.
       Nokia hopes to capitalise on that demand with its N97 Mini, a spinoff of its flagship high-end N97 smartphone. The mobile computer phone, featuring a touchscreen and keypad board, is priced at 21,100 baht to reach more consumers.
       It has a 5-megapixel camera,8 GB of onboard memory plus 16 GB expansion via a micro-SD card slot. It also has new personal and location-aware internet features and access to Nokia's Ovi platform and online social networks.

Microsoft hopes new OS will boost phone share

       The rebranded Windows Phone will be made available in the Thai market, with 16 models from eight global brands on offer as Microsoft attempts to retain its share in the smart phone market.
       Lisa Lam, Business & Marketing Organisation Director, Microsoft (Thailand), said the company has rebranded Windows Mobile as Windows Phone to build consistency and common experience in using the world's foremost operating system, whether on PC, server or phone.
       Moreover, the company has also launched its handset OS Windows Mobile 6.5 in conjunction with several global brand manufacturers.
       By the end of this year, the company expects to have eight mobile phone brands running Windows 6.5, with HTC,Samsung, Acer, Asus, LG, Motorola, Sony Ericsson and Toshiba on board, offering 16 models covering a variety of styles and price ranges to fit customer needs.
       Windows Phone has been designed to be interoperable with many device brands and platforms to respond to the different needs and demands of users, for both work and play, and creating experiences through a variety of hardware, applications and services.
       "Choice is a big differentiating factor when considering competitors which offer a limited range of models, and this has helped us sell more than 35 million Windows Mobiles from 140 Top OEMs," said Lam.
       She continued that Windows Mobile 6.5's key features include a newlydesigned home screen, an improved touch-sensitive user interface and Mobile Internet Explorer with built in Adobe Flash Lite, which enables websites to be displayed on phones in the same way they appear on a PC. Outlook Mo-bile/Exchange sync will be available at no additional charge if users hold an Exchange corporate license.
       In addition, Windows Phones will feature two new services: My Phone, to sync text messages, photos, video, contacts and more to the web; and Windows Marketplace for Mobile, which will offer over 30,000 applications. Popular mobile internet applications such as Facebook,MySpace, Netflix, Twikini, WunderRadio and Zagat will be available alongside a selection of games.
       According to IDC, the smart phone market in 2009 is estimated at around 197 million units worldwide, and is expected to reach 350 million unit by 2012. This is a growth rate of 77 percent,which is higher than that of feature phones, which have grown around 13 percent year-on-year.
       According to Gartner, in the smart phone operating system (OS) market,Symbian held s 51 percent share, down from 57 percent a year ago, while RIM and Apple shares grew year-on-year.
       Android's share was just under 2 per cent of the market and more Androidbased devices will come to market in the fourth quarter of 2009, intensifying competition in the smart phone OS market, particularly for Symbian and Windows.
       Microsoft's share continued to drop year-on-year to account for 9 per cent of the market in the second quarter of 2009.
       Recently, HTC (Thailand) introduced HTC Touch2, the first model built on the Windows Mobile 6.5 platform available in the Thai Market. The phone supports 3.5G, Wi-Fi and GPS, including a 3.2 MP camera at 16,900 baht.
       Meanwhile, Research in Motion's BlackBerry Curve 8520 smart phone has a touch-sensitive trackpad and is the first BlackBerry to feature dedicated media keys, giving customers greater control of their music and videos.
       Advance Info Service offers the product, which will be available next month,at 13,900 baht.

HTC Touch2 smart phone launched

       Taiwan-based HTC has launched the Touch2 smart phone in the Thai market, with a target to sell 50,000 units in the next 12 months.
       The Touch2 is the latest version of the HTC Touch, 50,000 of which have been sold locally in two and a half years. The Touch2 is HTC's fighting model, with which it aims to regain momentum in the Thai market for smart phones.
       HTC (Thailand) country manager Nattawat Woranopkul said the highlight of the new model was that it is the first smart phone bundled with the Microsoft Mobile 6.5 operating system, as well as being equipped with social-networking features such as Facebook, Twitter and Windows Live.
       He said that with its competitive price of Bt16,900 (including value-added tax), the HTC Touch2 will be the company's flagship product for the rest of the year.
       "We will launch two more models: one for Windows Mobile and another for the Android platform. Currently, there are 12 HTC models on the Windows Mobile platform and only two - Magic and Hero - on Android," said Nattawat.
       HTC targets overall revenue this year of Bt1.5 billion, up from Bt1.2 billion last year.
       He said that even though for a couple months it seemed the market momentum was going the way of other brands - notably iPhone and BlackBerry - from now on the momentum will return to HTC because of the new model with Windows Mobile 6.5.
       Moreover, the Touch2 is specially designed to meet the needs of customers demanding social-networking connections, he added.
       Somchai Sitthichaisrichart, managing director of SiS Distribution (Thailand) - HTC's local distributor - said the fact that there were now more players in the smart-phone market was good for consumers. But for HTC, its strength is based on Windows Mobile, on which Microsoft is working to rebrand and relaunch its strategy.
       "We admit we were not happy with our growth for a couple months, as we had expected much higher sales. However, we still have growth in double digits, although it is less than that of the market," he said.
       HTC (Thailand) this year expects to grow by less than 30 per cent, while the smart-phone market is expected to grow by 30 to 40 per cent.
       "The smart-phone market in Thailand still has a lot of room for growth as it is currently about 20,00 units per month, while total mobile-phone sales are around 700,000 to 800,000 per month. But the market for traditional mobile phones is showing flat growth, and is likely to fall further," said Somchai.

Designers set for phone competition

       Creating new phone designs will help companies break into new markets and capture more target users, especially as businesses prepare for 3G networks, said Thananan Vilailuck, President of Samart i-Mobile, a major Thai brand with 2.7 million unit sales expected this year.
       Recently, the company joined forces with the Industry Designer Society Thailand, or IDS, to launching the "i-Mobile Creative Synergy Award" competition to spur university students nationwide to submit mobile phone designs along with outstanding brand-building plans.
       "Every year, the company spends around 20 million baht on mobile phone design, both internally and outsourced,but this is often limited to only the scope of ideas," said Thananan.
       "The award will help us to apply the ideas and product designs arising from this project to actually develop products in Thai and foreign markets.
       "This collaboration with IDS will stimulate interest in mobile phone design, which is a rather specialised discipline that requires a focus on userfriendliness and the real needs of the user, as well as in the formulation of strategic marketing plans."
       He added:"This project is an important component of brand differentiation, as it encourages unique designs through the selection of premium-level gadgets as well as the development of content and applications that meet the needs and lifestyles of the users.
       "We will not attempt to compete with the big companies like Apple or Nokia,but we will offer 80 percent of the functions of those brands with value-formoney prices."
       Ditaphon Chantraurai, Assist Vice President, Product Marketing, Samart i-Mobile, added that the contestants who pass the shortlisting round will proceed to a product design and marketing communication workshop, where they will develop two types of mobile phones,namely, a Bar Type and a Touch Phone.
       University students who are interested in entering the contest are invited to form groups of three to four members each.
       Application forms can be downloaded from www.i-mobilephone.com until October 30.
       Makorn Chowanich, Chairman of the Industrial Product Design Association of Thailand, added that market knowledge is a key concern for designers.
       The project should also help strengthen the design business, especially in terms of gaining an understanding of local requirements, especially upcountry.
       Design and manufacture will be mutually beneficial, with attractive designs increasing demand, therefore boosting opportunities for supply.
       "In terms of price only, Thailand cannot compete with Chinese manufacturing, but I believe we have opportunities in niche markets and some expertise areas," said Makorn.
       Meanwhile, Niwat Wongprompreeda,Secretary General and Director of Education at the Advertising Association of Thailand, said designers should study consumer behavior and compare their products with competitors who offer similar designs and functions in the same price range.
       Currently, the the biggest market segment for mobile phones is models in the 1,000-3,000 baht range, leading Niwat to say:"Design can add value to the product and this is not limited to highprice models.
       "We can make low cost designs with low-cost material but still make it look attractive."

Cancer studies may be biased

       Studies on whether mobile phones can cause cancer,especially brain tumours, vary widely in quality and there may be some bias in those showing the least risk, researchers reported on Tuesday.
       So far it is difficult to demonstrate any link, although the best studies do suggest some association between mobile phone use and cancer, the research coordinated by South Korea's National Cancer Center found.
       Dr Seung-Kwon Myung and colleagues at Ewha Women's University and Seoul National University Hospital in Seoul and the University of California, Berkeley,examined 23 published studies of more than 37,000 people in what is called a meta-analysis. Results often depended on who conducted the study and how well they controlled for bias and other errors.
       "We found a large discrepancy in the association between mobile phone use and tumour risk by research group, which is confounded with the methodological quality of the research," they wrote in the Journal of Clinical Oncology .The use of mobile and cordless phones has exploded in the past 10 years to an estimated 4.6 billion subscribers worldwide, according to the UN International Telecommunication Union.
       Research has failed to establish any clear link between the devices and cancer.
       The latest study, supported in part by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, examined cases involving brain tumours and others including tumors of the facial nerves, salivary glands and testicles as well as non-Hodgkin's lymphomas.
       It found no significant association between the risk of tumours and overall use of mobile phones, including cellular and cordless phones.
       The South Korean team said "high quality" studies that blinded participants against bias found a mildly increased risk of tumours among mobile phone users. An increased risk of benign tumours was also found in people who used the phones for a decade or longer.
       The "high quality" studies were funded by the Swedish Work Environment Fund,the Orebro Cancer Fund and the Orebro University Hospital Cancer Fund, the research team said.
       Funding for some of the lower-quality studies included two industry groups,the Mobile Manufacturers Forum and the Global System for Mobile Communication Association.

SA CELLPHONE OPERATORS PRESSED TO CUT RATES

       South African lawmakers want mobile-phone operators, including MTN Group and Vodacom Group, to slash interconnection fees by more than half.
       Cellular phone operators will appear before Parliament's portfolio committee on communications in public hearings to be held over two days starting tomorrow, Ismail Vadi, the committee's chairman, said by phone from Cape Town yesterday.
       Parliament has proposed that mobile-phone companies cut interconnection fees to 60 cents (Bt2.75) a munute from 1.25 rand this year, and reduce them by a further 15 cents a year over the next three years, Vadi said.
       Teh committee is aiming to exert more pressure on operators and the Independent Communciations Authority of South Africa after four years of talks to cut fees failed to result in any "significant progress", he added. "Interconnection rates in South Africa are amongst the highest in the world, and certainly in Africa," Vadi said. "The committee is extremely concerned about this. Lower fees will increase competition and will reduce communications costs in the country."
       MTN, Vodacom and other cellphone operators are meeting witht Icasa today to discuss reducing call charges, acting spokesman Josias Mathiba said by phone from Johannesburg yesterday.
       Icasa will make recommendations on pricing to lawmakers following today's meeting, he added.
       MTN, africa's biggest mobilephone operator, fell 1.95 rand, or 1.6 per cent, to 124.10 rand as of 10.14 am in Johannesbug yesterday. Vodacom slid 75 cents. or 1.4 per cent, to 53.65 rand.
       The Communications ministry may issue a policy directive to Icasa to force mobile-phone operators to slash fees, the department's spokesman, Tiyani Rikhotso, said.

STILL IN THE GAME

       Bharti Airtel, India's biggest mobile operator, may restart talks with South Africa's MTN while eyeing smaller targets in the Mideast and Asia. By Tony Arora in New Delhi
       For the second time in as many years, India's Bharti Airtel and South Africa's MTN have failed in their bid to create the world's third-largest mobile services company with 200 million subscribers,revenues of US$20 billion and operations in 24 countries - just behind China Mobile and Vodafone Group.
       The deal-breaker was the South African government's concern that the country would lose MTN to a foreign player. Delhi could not meet Pretoria's demand for dual listing of MTN shares post-merger since India does not yet allow full capital account convertibility.
       Official sources in New Delhi say a dual-listing structure would lead to huge tax losses to the government.
       Another major hurdle was an amendment by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) stating that any acquisition through American or Global depository receipts (ADRs and GDRs)with voting rights would trigger a mandatory 20% open offer above the 15%threshold. This upset the terms of the proposed deal as MTN sought to acquire 36% in Bharti through GDRs.
       The South African government's pension fund, Public Investment Corporation, holds 21% in MTN and the government was under intense pressure to nix the deal on concerns that MTN's South African identity would be lost.
       Sources said a dual-listed company (DLC) clause also would weaken the supervisory authority of SEBI as it would not be able to monitor overseas stock exchanges. MTN is currently listed on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange.
       Last year, China Mobile and Vodafone also were reportedly close to striking a deal with MTN but nothing materialised.But Bharti is determined to replicate its staggering growth at home in other emerging markets, where scale is vital and penetration rates are low but rising fast. It is interesting to see why.
       The company is the market leader in India, the world's fastest growing mobile market and the second largest after China. It has nearly a quarter of the country's total mobile subscriber base.
       Telecom analysts and bankers say Bharti is keen to expand offshore as returns from the Indian market are likely to slow down in coming years. About 40% of India's 1.1 billion people have mobile phones and more than 10 million users are signing up every month.
       Subscriber growth is expected to be slow eventually as more of the population gets phones. Increasing competition in the already crowded market with the entry of international players such as NTT DoCoMo, Vodafone, Etisalat, Virgin Mobile, Sistema Telecom and Telenor in ventures with local firms has started taking its toll on revenue and margins.
       Singapore Telecommunications,Southeast Asia's biggest phone company,owns 30.4% in Bharti. Company executives say they will keep looking to expand overseas but may aim for smaller firms than MTN. One possibility on the horizon is the Kuwaiti telecom firm Zain, whose shareholders are selling a 46% stake.
       Bharti is also reportedly eyeing the Sri Lankan operations of Luxembourg-based Millicom International Cellular.Other possibilities are Warid Telecom whose shareholders are Abu Dhabi Group and SingTel, and Egypt's Orascom, said a banker who worked with Bharti chairman Sunil Mittal in the past.
       "He clearly wants to scale up and knows he needs to go outside India as well," said the banker."Maybe he will temper his global ambition for now, but that will strengthen his aim to be at least a regional powerhouse."
       Currently, the company has operations in Sri Lanka and its parent operates mobile firms in Seychelles and the British Channel Islands.
       But the collapse of talks with MTN also mean that Bharti will not have to take on debt and its strong cash position will leave it well placed for local expansion and an upcoming 3G auction in India.The government will auction thirdgeneration spectrum in December and analysts expect winning bids of $1 billion to $1.5 billion for pan-India spectrum.
       Bharti and will soon start accumulating cash even after spending on the 3G auction. It needs to deploy that somewhere,and acquisitions are the natural choice.
       The company became net cash-flow positive in the year to March 2009. With $629 million in net debt, its net debt-toEBITDA ratio (earnings before interest,tax, depreciation and amortisation) of 0.25 makes it one of the best-placed Indian telecom firms.
       As of June 30, Bharti had 63 billion rupees in cash and investments that could be converted into cash. If the MTN deal had gone through, fresh debt could have strained its balance sheet.
       3G also throws open opportunities in non-SMS services including data, music and video. This calls for more investments and here again Bharti looks comfortable.
       Apart from 3G, another growth area in India is consumer services such as direct-to-home (DTH) and television service based on internet protocol. Bharti has entered both segments and faces stiff competition from players such as Reliance Communications and Tata Sky.

A piece of the action

       And the crowd went wild as Steve "President for Life" Jobs of Apple Computer came out on the stage to emcee the now-annual September music sales pitch, with loads of new stuff; in the biggest news, the iPod Nano got a video camera and FM radio, and Steve showed off the new iTunes Ver 9 management software; he also showed off the iPhone OS 3.1, available for download, which actually recommends apps you might like, has better synching for music and video, and lets you save video from email attachments into your playlist, aka Camera Roll.
       Apple cut the prices of its old iPod models just hours ahead of announcing new iPod models; the price of the 32-gigabyte iPod Touch was cut $120 to $279, or 9,500 baht in real money; a 120-gig iPod Classic now costs $229, a $20 cut by the generous folks who run Apple. Palm introduced a smaller,cheaper smartphone than the successful Pre; the Pixi, as it's called, is aimed at younger users; it's slimmer, has a smaller screen, but features a Qwerty keyboard,8GB of memory and a two-megapixel camera.
       US President Barack Obama, in a controversial school-time speech to most US children, advised them to be careful about what they put on Facebook and other social networks;"Whatever you do, it will be pulled up again later somewhere in your life," he warned.
       First Solar of America signed a contract with the Chinese government to build the world's largest solar power plant in Inner Mongolia; assuming it is built, the Ordos City plant will push out 2,000 megawatts of electricity,around four times the size of the projects being built by the US Army in the Mojave Desert and by First Solar in California;the China project isn't near anything much; Ordos City is a coal-producing,eight-year-old, planned low-carbon development with about 1.5 million residents, roughly 800km west of Beijing.
       Networking firm Huawei of China,which has suffered a scandal or two in its Thailand work, was stung to the quick by mean stories in the Australian media that it might be tied to the Chinese espionage services; Guo Fulin, managing director of Huawei in Australia, was hurt by the insensitive stories that his company was under investigation by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation; Huawei is a public-owned company, he said, and it is unthinkable that any government agency would be using Huawei to conduct spying.
       The government of Cuba took a huge security gamble, and authorised post offices to provide Internet access to the public - just in case the Cuban government ever authorises the public to use the Internet at some point in the future; the only public access currently allowed is to an inside-Cuba intranet for email, provided by post offices at a cost of the equivalent of 55 baht an hour, in a country where the average wage is 680 baht a month.
       Japan fired an unmanned cargo craft into orbit; the 16.5-tonne unmanned H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) is on a mission to re-supply the space station;it will stay up there to continue ferrying stuff to the US shuttle fleet next year.
       Prime Minister Gordon Brown publicly apologised for the way that people treated World War Two code-breaker and extraordinary computer geek Alan Turing for being gay; Turing was prosecuted for homosexual conduct in 1952,and a mere two years later, he committed suicide;"I am pleased to have the chance how deeply sorry I and we all are," said Mr Brown.
       Google , which plans to give away grazillions of books in order to get the (commercial) goods on its customers,offered to let all its opponents have a piece of the action;Amazon.com , which wants to sell grazillions of books to make tonnes of money directly, scoffed.Rupert Murdoch, the American media mogul, began collecting money at the tollgate to his news sites, in an interesting experiment to see if people will actually pay for news on the Net.
       IBM, Microsoft, Oracle Corp and Google all responded to a plaintive "Help" from the Newspaper Association of America on how to get money from customers who don't want to pay for news; Randy Bennett, who is the senior president for vice in newspapers, said he's looking over 11 different proposals on how to squeeze money out of you;Google, to no one's surprise, offered to put all newspapers behind one vast,semi-expensive firewall, because that would be so convenient for everyone to just pay one company one time, and then Google would spread the money around; sure, that ought to work.
       South African technology firm Unlimited IT dispatched Winston, a pigeon,from its office in Pietermaritzburg, with some data for its main hub in Durban strapped to the bird's leg; it took Winston one hour and eight minutes to fly the data card; meanwhile, Unlimited IT tried to send the same data via the speedchallenged Internet connections provided by leading Internet Telkom , and that download was four percent finished by the time Winston arrived; so it's not only countries that start with "T" that have Internet problems.
       T-Mobile of Germany and Orange of France merged their yuppiephone operations in Britain, creating a new $13.5 billion company with 28.4 mobile phone customers; the Deutsche Telekom-France Telecom venture will be the biggest provider in the UK, with a 37 percent market share, larger than O2 of Telefonica.

Sony sale

       Sony Thailand will hold a three-day "Warehouse Sale" during September 25-27 at Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre.
       TVs, home theatre systems, CyberShot cameras, handy cams, digital frames,Vio notebooks, MP3 players and Sony Ericsson mobile phones are offered at up to 80% discounts.

BHARTI-MTN DEAL FACES REGULATORY HURDLE

       India's top mobile firm Bharti Airtel and South African cellular flagship MTN are ready to sign a tie-up deal but regulatory issues could stymie a final agreement, reports said yesterday.
       "The deal is all set, agreed and legally ready to be signed," the Business Standard newspaper quoted an unnamed source close to negotiations as saying.
       But the Business Standard and The Economic Times say a final agreement could be blocked by the issue of whether India would allow the merged company to be listed on both the Indian and South African stock exchanges.
       A dual-listed company (DLCs) involves two listed companies that have different sets of shareholders but share ownership of a single business operation. South Africa allows dual listing while India does not.
       The South African government, which indirectly holds over 21 per cent in MTN, said earlier this month it was unwilling to sacrifice the firm's "South African character" and raised the possibility of dual listing as a compromise.
       Indian media reports say the two firms have worked out details of the proposed US$23 billion (Bt777 billion) cash-and-share swap deal. The merged company would have over 200 million subscribers and $20 billion in annual revenues.
       But allowing DLCs would involve substantial changes in India's foreign exchange and stock-market laws and full cabinet approval, the reports said.
       A Bharti Airtel spokesman had no comment.
       The Economic Times said the issue was expected to be raised at a meeting between Premier Manmohan Singh and South African President Jacob Zuma on the sidelines of a G-20 summit in the US city of Pittsburgh this week.
       The newspaper said Singh was likely to indicate the Indian government's support for the deal but added it was unclear whether he could give any assurance on changing India's legislation to allow dual-listed companies.
       The Economic Times quoted Vincent Magwenya, a spokesman for Zuma, as saying the deal's future was dependent on whether "all regulatory requirements and other considerations in both countries" could be met.
       The 15-year-old MTN is South Africa's largest telecoms company with 103 million subscribers in 21 countries.
       A merger between the two would create the world's third-largest mobile-phone operator by subscribers that would straddle Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

A HERO'S WELCOME

       The latest offering from HTC, the Taiwan-based manufacturer of portable devices that's going from strength to strength, is the Hero smartphone. It's the third in the company's A Series, and is a big jump from the recent Dream and Magic (which it replaces) models in terms of design - both internally and externally. But can it rival the iPhone and the Palm Pre in the Thai smartphone market? Let's take a closer look.
       Visually, the model is instantly appealing with its chiselled clean lines and bevelled edges. It appears modern, stylish and durable; quite a jump from previous HTC models. The distinguishing feature is the angled base, or "chin", which has drawn both criticism and praise from gadget fondlers worldwide. While ruining the contoured flatness of the phone, it also protects the screen and tracking ball from scratching when you drop the phone or place it "flat" on its face. It also enables the phone to nestle nicely in the palm of your hand, and its robust 135g gives an overall feeling of strength.
       In terms of usability, the dimensions of the model enable single-handed operation. However, bad positioning of the back and search buttons will give right-handers thumb cramps or worse. The four buttons across the top of the chin are well placed, but could be a little bigger. Also on the chin is the slightly undersized but effective track ball that flashes nicely when you receive a call or text message.
       Feature-wise, the impressive 3.2-inch, 320x480 HVGA screen has an oleophobic coating, the same as its iPhone 3GS rival, that deters fingerprint smudging. It is also nicely sensitive, requiring only a light touch to activate. Although it boasts five megapixels, the camera takes dull and grainy photos, and the track ball works as a slippery shutter button. The speaker is adequate for a phone of this level, but falls short of the Nokia N97's speaker, although - finally - a 3.5mm headphone jack is included. The 1,350mAh battery requires daily charging without excessive usage - a similar performance to the iPhone 3GS but worse than the Palm Pre after battery tweaks.
       Inside, the specs of the Hero are almost the same as those of the model it replaces - the big difference is the software upgrade. HTC has stayed committed to open source software and has come up with Android 1.5, which it calls HTC Sense. The new and vastly improved operating system supports Adobe Flash and is compatible with social networks - namely Facebook, Twitter and Flickr - which are well integrated into the software and multimedia features of the phone. The keyboard is easy to use in landscape mode, and the predictive text function makes typing and web browsing very manageable, however, users must open and close the keyboard themselves. Searching for contacts is fast and intuitive, and the widgets are easy to manage and use, especially the toggle controls for network connectivity, which gets a big tick. The seven-panel homescreen might perhaps be a little excessive with the hardware limitations, but time will tell, as a firmware update has been promised. Another aspect that has been thrown around is the lag issue, which was apparent in the demo model, but others have reported much less lag.
       Overall, the HTC Hero is a wake-up call to major phone manufacturers who have enjoyed an oligopoly on the market for too long. The battle for phone operating systems is heating up, and Apple has traditionally dominated this with its iPhone software. But as the Android OS draws level, only the hardware in the models of the other manufacturers such as HTC holds them back now. With better hardware specs, the Hero could have gone ahead of the pack here, but it's still a strong sign of things to come from the HTC camp.
       The HTC Hero, priced at 22,900 baht, is available from Hardware House, Pantip Plaza, Phetchaburi Road, call 02-685-8936.

MOTOROLA BIDS ITS WAY BACK THROUGH JAY MART

       US handset-maker Motorola will be aggressively tapping Thailand's mobile phone market with the aim of winnng at least 5 per cent market share this year, Robert van Tilburg, the company's regional director of sales, mobile devices for Southeast Asia, said yesterday.
       The firm has been less active in Thailand over the past year, because of the restructuring of its mobile-phone business unit.
       Mobile-phone industrialists estimate the total handset sales in Thailand this year to be between 8 million and 9 million units.
       Motorola has already appointed Thailand's handset seller Jay Mart as its main distributor, though Tilburg declined to say if this was an exclusive deal.
       Jay Mart has more than 200 branches, 29 IT junction outlets along with 800 dealers. Under the Motorola deal, Jay Mart will be overseeing inventory management and after-sales service.
       The firm unveiled three new models yesterday - Motorala Aura worth Bt69,900, the 3G-smart Motorola A3100 worth Bt17,900 and Motorola ZN5 worth Bt5,900 - and plans to launch more next year.
       A total of 14 Motorola models will have been launched this year.

"WALL STREET JOURNAL" TO CHARGE FOR MOBILE ACCESS

       Rupert Murdoch, owner of The Wall Street Journal, announced plans yesterday to begin charging for access to the newspaper on mobile devices suche as the Blackberry or iPhone.
       Murdoch, speaking to financial analysts at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia XVIII Conference in New York, also predicted that print newspapers would be extinct within 20 to 30 years, replaced by portable electronic readers.
       "Starting in a month or two, people who are getting The Wall Street Journal on their Blackberry are going to be paying $2 (Bt67) a week," Murdoch said. "Same with the iPhone." Mobile access to the Journal would cost $1 a week for subscribers to the newspaper, the News Corp chairman and chief executive said.
       News Corp, he added, was looking at ways to begin charging users of popular online video website Hulu.com.
       News Corp is a partner in Hulu.com, a fast-growing rival to YouTube that offers full-length television shows and movies, along with The Walt Disney Co and NBC Universal.
       "Are we looking at Hulu with a view to adding subscription services there and pay per view? Yes, we are looking at that," Murdoch said, although cautioning that "no decision had been made yet".
       Murdoch dismissed suggestions that News Corp, which owns MySpace, the Fox television network, the 20th Century Fox movie studio and the STAR and SKY television networks, in addition to its newspaper properties, had become more of an entertainment empire than a news operation.
       "We're living in a very complicated world in which news is more valuable than it has ever been," he said. "If we were Newspaper Corp I would say yes, we would certainly change [the name]."
       He said "way over a million" people were paying for online access to The Wall Street Journal, numbers that are "expanding all the time".
       Some 25,000 people have subscribed to read the Journal on Amazon's e-reader, the Kindle, he added.
       Murdoch said he personally did not enjoy reading a newspaper on the Kindle but e-readers were the future of newspapers.
       "I don't think it's months away, I think it's years away," he said of completing a satisfactory e-reader. "But I do certainly see the day when more people will be buying their newspapers on reading panels, portable, foldable panels, than buying it on crushed trees," he added.
       "I think that is certainly coming. It may be 20 years before it totally replaces newspapers. It may be 30."

MS mobile upgrade

       Microsoft, seeking to tap into the rapidly growing smart phone market, announced recently that new cellphones coming next month will feature an upgraded mobile operating system.
       The Redmond, Washington-based software giant said mobile phones from its handset partners hitting stores on October 6 will be the first to feature Windows Mobile 6.5, the latest version of its mobile phone software.
       The new phones, to be branded as "Windows Phones", will feature a redesigned Web browser and a free service called "My Phone," which allows users to back up contacts, messages and photos on a PC or the Internet.
       Microsoft also announced plans to launch an online applications store,Windows Marketplace for Mobile.
       It said a "wide variety" of applications will be available for the devices to be offered by hardware manufacturers in North America, Europe, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region.
       Other features include email using Microsoft Office Outlook Mobile and Microsoft Office Mobile, which allows users to open and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents from their phone.
       Microsoft's share of the market for smart phone operating systems fell to 9 percent in the second quarter from 12 percent a year ago, according to research firm Gartner.
       Nokia's Symbian is the leader with a 51 percent share of the market according to Gartner, while RIM commands around 21 percent and Apple has increased its share to 13.3 percent from 2.8 percent a year ago.
       Google's open-source Android is another new entry in the operating system space and the Internet giant has carved out a 2 percent market share.

Smart ways to accessorise

       Shop around online for the best deals on accessories for handheld devices, writes Jay Dougherty in Washington
       Buy a cell phone, smartphone, or PDA today, and you'll quickly find that there is a plethora of products available that promise to make your experience with your handheld device better.
       Some of these products are helpful,some are unnecessary, and some are downright indispensable. All of them,however, can be costly, especially if you're not careful about where you hand over your cash. So how can you separate the good deals from the bad? Read on for some guidelines.
       Cables and chargers
       Virtually all handheld devices come with a charger and a cable so that you can hook up your device to your PC.Veteran handheld users know that one charger and cable, though, are often not enough. You need a car charger for when you're on the road, and you probably want or need additional chargers and cables for work or other locations in which you normally have your handheld device.
       Cell phone or wireless stores love this dilemma, of course, because they typically have a range of pricy chargers and cables ready to sell you. What they won't tell you is that you can often buy compatible chargers and cables for a lot less money from an online parts vendor such as Amazon or Newegg.com.
       Take the example of the USB-tomicro-USB cable that a BlackBerry Curve owner needs in order to hook the device up to a PC. You can find these online for just a couple of dollars, but you might pay up to 10 times that amount if you purchase the cable from a wireless store.The same goes for car chargers. Shop around online and you'll likely come away with all of the extra chargers and cables you need for a fraction of what you'd pay for them at your cell phone dealer.
       Memory
       The majority of today's cell phones and smartphones also include digital camera, video, mp3 playing, and voice recording capabilities. And that means there's never enough storage space for all of those media files.
       You can buy additional memory cards for most handhelds, but again, if you look in the wireless store for those, you'll pay more than you have to. Instead,find out the type of memory that your phone accepts and purchase it from a reasonably-priced online retailer. Instructions for inserting the new memory are usually included in the manual that came with your handheld device.
       Shop around a bit, and you'll quickly find that adding lots of extra memory won't break the bank, either. The best price-to-capacity bargains today are with microSD cards of 8GB. Larger cards exist -32GB is currently the maximum capacity for the tiny microSD cards, although 64GB models are on the way.But the price jump from 8GB to 16GB is more than double. Expect to pay about $20 for an 8GB card and a bit more than double that for a 16GB model. Be sure your handheld device will recognise the capacity that you wish to use.
       Screenprotectors
       The screens on today's cell phones and smartphones seem to get bigger by the day. Indeed, devices such the iPhone and BlackBerry Storm are pretty much all screen, at least on one side. It's natural for new owners of such devices to want to protect those sparkling LCD screens with some type of clear film, and plenty of manufacturers have heeded the call and offer screen protectors of all sizes.Zagg's Invisible Shield (http://www.zagg.com) is one that's frequently cited for its quality.
       Yet most of today's handheld devices come equipped with screens that are remarkably scratch and dent resistant.Log on to YouTube, and you can easily find videos of people who have gone to great lengths to prove this - attempting to scratch their iPhone or BlackBerry,for example, with a nail or knife, only to fail.
       So you can probably forego the screen protectors - unless you want to use one for the back of the device. Owners frequently express dismay that the plastic backs of their handhelds are prone to scratches and fingerprints. If that bothers you, a screen protector may be the answer.
       Headsets
       If you need to talk hands-free in the car chances are you've looked at the Bluetooth headset or ear pieces that make this possible. The advice here is the same as it is with shopping for cables,chargers, or extra memory: shop around.Dozens of companies make Bluetooth headsets that are probably compatible with your handheld device. You'll pay a lot less by buying online than you will if you purchase the headset from your cell phone dealer.
       Disinfectant wipes
       You probably wash your hands regularly to avoid picking up or spreading germs. But do you wash your mobile device? The fact is our cell phones, PDAs,and smartphones are germ magnets in tests, they've proven to be competent carriers not just of cold and flu germs but of more dangerous hepatitis and staph viruses. One study even found a typical cell phone to be dirtier than a keyboard, toilet seat, or the bottom of your shoe.
       How can you keep your cell phone as germ-free as possible without damaging the device with water? Perhaps the best accessory you can purchase are premoistened disinfectant wipes. They're available from many companies today and typically come in handy dispensers that you can keep at your office or home.If you choose instead to use a disinfectant spray to wipe the mobile device, be careful not to spray liquid directly onto the phone or device itself. Instead, spray the disinfectant onto a clean, lint-free rag or soft paper towel first, and then start wiping.
       Insurance
       Mobile devices fall victim to all sorts of mishaps - everything from being dropped onto concrete to being accidentally dunked in a cup of coffee. Your primary defense against such trouble is a good insurance policy.
       But not all insurance policies are created equal, and in fact, the standard insurance policies sold at wireless stores - which typically involve a per-month fee in addition to your wireless rate can be among the worst. Before you sign up for one, be sure to read the fine print. Many such policies do not cover the most common cause of cell phone death, for example: water damage. Even a small amount of water that makes it way inside of your cell phone can completely destroy it.
       So whenever a salesperson in a wireless store attempts to sell you an insurance policy, ask specifically whether water damage is covered.

NEC, Hitachi, Casio merge phone units

       Japanese high-tech makers NEC, Hitachi and Casio Computer said yesterday that they had agreed to merge their mobile phone businesses to cope with a slump in domestic sales and expand overseas.
       Together they would have the second biggest slice of the Japanese mobile telephone handset market, ahead of Panasonic Corp but behind Sharp Corp,which has a one-quarter share.
       They also aim to do something that Japanese cellphone makers have long struggled to achieve - build a significant presence overseas.
       "The tie-up will strengthen our business, building a strong market position at home and expanding in the global marketplace," NEC Corp executive vice president Akihito Otake told a news conference."The merger is unavoidable at a time when the domestic market has nearly halved and faces an uncertain outlook," he added.
       Most Japanese already own a mobile telephone and operators and handset manufacturers are facing growing challenges to boost revenue in a crowded market, particularly given the weak economy and shrinking population.
       Japanese mobile telephone producers have had limited success so far overseas.Japan's mobile telephone market has evolved in a different way to other markets and handsets made here are designed specifically to meet Japanese preferences.
       Competition is also emerging from foreign handset makers such as Apple,whose iPhone was launched in Japan by No. 3 operator Softbank last year.
       The joint venture will initially be owned two-thirds by NEC Corp,17.3%by Casio Computer Co and 16.7% by Hitachi Ltd.
       They aim to merge the operations by April 2010 and pump extra capital into the firm, boosting the stake of NEC to 70.7% and that of Casio to 20%. Hitachi's share will drop to 9.3%.
       Together they plan to raise sales to 12 million handsets a year by early 2013-five million overseas. Currently just one quarter of their combined revenue comes from foreign markets.
       "We aim to expand our revenue based on our technology since we are well aware that we can't compete in terms of price," said Otake.
       NEC makes mobile phones for Japanese operators NTT DoCoMo and Softbank while Casio-Hitachi produce handsets for Japan's KDDI Corp and SoftBank, as well as Verizon Wireless of the United States and LG Telecom of South Korea.
       Hitachi is restructuring after losing 787.3 billion yen ($8.7 billion) in the year to March - the biggest ever loss for a Japanese manufacturer.
       It tied up with Casio in mobile handsets in 2004, but the venture fell into the red during the current global economic downturn.
       NEC Corp, which lost 296.6 billion yen in the year to March, is cutting 20,000 jobs worldwide and withdrawing from the personal computer business in North America and Europe.

New Ovi Store to be part of Nokia's major makeover

       Nokia is spearheading a new breed of its Ovi Applications Store in a hope of creating a one-stop digital application bazaar and supporting its own multimedia devices.
       The Finnish world market leader in handsets hopes the online media and software hub will be a boon for itself as well as consumers, content developers and operators.
       The move is a direct response to Apple's App Store for the iPhone, and is expected to spur a rapid evolution in the way people use mobile phones. The policy also reflects how the focus of the mobile-phone industry has shifted from devices to software and services.
       While Nokia will certainly face an uphill struggle in creating a next wave of its own mobile applications and services in competition with the Apple App Store,it is also taking up another challenge by introducing its spin on the laptop, called the Booklet 3G.
       The 10.1-inch HD-display mini laptop is priced at 575(28,500 baht), weighs one kilogramme and has a battery life of up to 12 hours.
       At the recent Nokia World 2009 in Stuttgart, Nokia announced a wide range of novelties including a Beta version of Ovi Maps for S605th Edition phones,the Ovi Lifecasting feature and Social Messaging Beta for Nokia Messaging.
       Ovi Maps gives users one-touch access to a variety of new content and services through maps.ovi.com. The new personalised services integrate the user's location and surroundings.
       An extension of Nokia Messaging called Social Messaging Beta, which can run on the N97 and Nokia 6700 classic,will enable users to tap into multicommunity social networking to share status updates and photos from the camera or gallery and share current locations or view friends' locations. Ovi Lifecasting enables users to share their locations with their Facebook friends.
       Ovi Store offers 4,500 applications including games, videos, widgets,location-based applications and personalised content under the Social Location (SoLo) concept. It allows users to download free and paid content and applications. Nokia also officially announced a lineup of new smartphones - the N900 and N97 Mini priced at 450- and the music phones Nokia X6 priced at 450 and X3 priced at 115.
       CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said Nokia expected 300 million Ovi subscribers by 2012, up from 55 million across 100 Nokia devices in 180 countries currently."Nokia Ovi was an incredible success, with up to 1 million accounts activated in the past six months," he said.
       "This economy of scale through web technology will level the playing field for Nokia, create 'ecosystems', and make Ovi Store a very compelling channel for developers and content publishers to enhance their service offering. It is critical for Nokia's future."
       Up to 1.1 billion people use Nokia phones out of 4 billion mobile-phone users globally. In comparison, about 1.6 billion people have bank accounts and 1 billion use credit cards.
       The Ovi Store is set to change the whole new digital application platform and spark a rapid evolution in the mobile industry, said Mr Kallasvuo.
       Nokia plans to develop more applications and services as well as compatible devices to accommodate downloading demand. It signalled the determination to catch up with Apple by hosting a global developer competition called Calling All Innovators at its Forum Nokia 2009 in Stuttgart. More than 1,700 submissions were received from developers and publishers in 85 countries.
       Categories include web applications and runtime widgets, Adobe Flash Litebased applications, emerging-market services and location-aware services utilising Ovi Maps.

Settrade launches iPhone trading application

       Settrade yesterday launched an iPhone online trading application to tap the growth in internet stock trading.
       Announcing the new iPhone application, from left: Kirati Kosicharoen, SET head of information services; Santi Kiranand, a SET group head for market development; Sopawadee Lertmanaschai, a SET chief marketing officer; Adhiruth Thothaveesansuk, True Corp managing director; and Pichit Thanyodom, True chief information officer.
       Settrade Streaming is a fast trading channel for investors to monitor the real-time stock market and to instantly trade and conveniently manage their investment portfolios, said Sopawadee Lertmanaschai, the SET chief marketing officer for markets and post-trade services.
       The application works with 26 retail brokers, who see online trading as a way to offer more convenient trading services and to cut their personnel costs. Currently, 29 brokers offer online trading services, which also have commission rates as low as 0.15% compared with 0.25% for normal trades.
       Investors are looking for more convenient stock trading channels and internet trading on the Stock Exchange of Thailand has grown constantly, said Ms Sopawadee.
       In the first eight months of 2009, online trading accounted for about 20.51% of total trading volume, up from an average of 16.12% last year. Online trading accounts totalled 224,842 at the end of August, up from 189,348 at the end of 2008.
       "With this rising trend, it's possible that we will see growth of 30% in online trading this year," said Ms Sopawadee.
       Apple's iconic iPhone accounts for about 65% of all online users accessing settrade.com through a mobile phone.
       Since its pre-launch late last month to test the market, Settrade Streaming has become one of the eight most popular downloads in Thailand, with about 80% of its downloads being made locally, said Adhiruth Thothaveesansuk, a managing director of True Corp.
       As a local distributor of Apple products, True has helped Settrade to make its new application available globally in Apple's application store.
       Montri Sornpaisarn, CEO of Kim Eng Securities, said the new application increased the choice for online customers, which includes Kim Eng's KETrade. Nearly 1,000 accounts were opened in August for Kim Eng, twice the usual amount, he said.
       Investors can download the application free of charge but must pay internet usage costs as well as a minimum online commission fee, which ranges from 0.15% for cash balance or credit balance accounts to a minimum of 0.2% for other accounts. The application supports users of the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch 2nd Generation.

T-Mobile, Orange in UK merger deal

       Deutsche Telekom AG and France Telecom SA said yesterday they intended to combine their British mobile phone units - T-Mobile UK and Orange UK - to form the country's biggest mobile operator.
       Deutsche Telekom said the two companies have entered exclusive negotiations on combining its struggling UK unit with France Telecom's in a 50-50 joint venture.
       The announcement follows reports that Telefonica of Spain, owner of UK market leader O2, and No.2 Vodafone Group PLC had made informal offers of about ฃ4 billion ($6.5 billion) for T-Mobile.
       The combined company would have a customer base of 28.4 mobile phone users, or about 37% of UK mobile subscribers at the end of 2008.
       That would overtake O2, which has a 27% share of the UK market. Vodafone is second with 25%. Orange has 22%,T-Mobile 15% and Hutchison Whampoa's 3 has 8%.
       In May, Deutsche Telekom reported a first-quarter loss of 1.1 billion ($1.58 billion) which it blamed in part on intensifying competition, especially in the UK.
       Jonathan Groocock, an analyst at Investec Securities, said a deal could benefit the entire British mobile sector.
       "The final outcome would be improved market returns for all parties as margins could stabilise," he said in a research note to clients.
       The proposed deal "is expected to create substantial value for both shareholders," Deutsche Telekom said in a statement. It added that it expected the merger to generate synergies with a net present value of more than ฃ3.5 billion ($5.7 billion).
       Signing of a deal is expected at the end of October, and its completion would be subject to approval by antitrust authorities, Deutsche Telekom said.
       The business had combined 2008 revenue of some ฃ7.7 billion and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of ฃ1.7 billion, Deutsche Telekom said.
       Bonn-based Deutsche Telekom said it would contribute T-Mobile UK to the merged firm "on a cash-free, debt-free basis," including the British unit's 50%holding in a 3G network joint venture with Hutchison and gross tax losses carried forward of at least ฃ1.5 billion.
       France Telecom would contribute Orange UK, including ฃ1.25 billion of intragroup net debt,"in order to equalise the value of the contributions to the joint venture," the statement said.
       Once the deal closes, Deutsche Telekom would grant a ฃ625 million shareholder loan to the joint venture, which it said would be used to reimburse ฃ625 million to France Telecom.
       The joint venture would have total debt of ฃ1.25 billion, represented by shareholder loans of ฃ625 million each held by Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom, the statement said.

NOKIA HITS BACK AT "SMART" RIVALS

       Company's ageing product line is finding less favour with customers
       Faced with increased competition from up-and-coming rivals, Finnish telecom giant Nokia plans to launch a slew of new products this year, but analysts say it position as the world's number one mobile-phone manufacturer.
       To fight back against Apple's iPhone and RIM's Blackberry, Nokia announced plans to launch three new smartphones with touch screens, a portable notebook PC, and a tie up with microsoft to use its popular Office software on its handsets.
       Industry observers criticised the Finnish giant for its ageing product line and for not bringing smartphones to market quickly enough to take on their up-and-coming rivals.
       Analysts interviewed by AFP agreed that Nokia had not yet found a product to chalenge the iPhone as most new Nokia devices use an outdated operating system to drive their phones.
       "It is going to be 2011 before they have the right software to make a really competitive product," said Richard Windsor, a London-based technology analyst for Nomura Securities.
       It slatest smartphone, the N97, has achieved modest sales so far compared to the iPhone.
       Technology consultancy Gartner estimates Nokia has sold just 500,000 of them worldwide since its launch in June. Apples new third-generation iPhone sold one million units in its first weekend on sale.
       Nokia needs its new models to be a success, smartphones, handsets with high-speed Internet access, are are the fastest growing segmant in the mobile phone market and their higher price tags mean they carry higher profit margins than cheaper, more basic models.
       The Finnish giant's share of this lucrative segment has ebbed away in recent months. In the second quarter of 2009, it sold 45 per cent of all 40 million smartphones sold worldwide.
       That compares to 47.4 per cent of 32 million handsets at the same time last year, accordiing to Gartner data.
       "The right high-end product and an increased focus on services and content are vital for Nokia if it wants to both revamp its brand and please investors," wrote Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi in a research not to clients.
       In addition to its partnershiip with Mocrosoft, Nokia with social networking site Facebook to develop new services.
       "They have ralised that for certain things it makes sense to partner," said Ben Wood, reserach director at CCS Insight.
       Apple also beat Nokia in drawing in additional revenue from the sale of online applications: ringtones, videos, games and other Internet gadgets.
       "Nokia cannot create one kiler product to beat Apple or Google. Nokia has to creat an experience or a solution that is so compelling that a consumer says 'I like the whole proposition,"" said Wood.
       Nokia's chief executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo told reporters on Wednesday that these and-on sevices were "critical to our future" and that his company wanted to make smartphones more affordable to a wider range of people.
       But that will be a hard sell in the current economic climate.
       The global financial crisis has weakened demand for mobile phone sales after six years of uninterrupted growth.
       Nokia, which has 1.1 billion customers worldwdie, posted a 66-per-cent drop in net profit in the second quarter of 2009 and a nearly 25-per-cent decline in revenues on a 12-month basis.
       In a bid to restore the company to profitability, a cost-cutting programme was launched in January aimed at reducing Nokia's workforce by some 4,000.

A HERO'S WELCOME

       [WHAT] Launch of the new HTC Hero phone.
       [WHERE] Funky Villa.
       [HOST] Nattawat Woranopakul, country manager of HTC (Thailand).
       [HIGHLIGHT] Sense of a Hero Party featuring celebrities such as Pattriya Na Nakorn, Tachapol Chumduang (Tune AF3), Marisa Annita and Holly Amranand; a special dance show from super models, lead by Marisa Annita.
       Nattawat Woranopakul (centre) welcomes celebrities of the night, Pattriya Na Nakorn (left) and Tachapol Chumduang.
       Jay Spencer, Supattra Prakaisiri and Jareyadee Thamavit.
       Holly Amranand.
       Marisa Annita, sexy hero.
       Pichayanund Chindahporn and Valeerat Singkivibul.
       Opal-Panisara Phimpru

HTC HERO

       HTC HERO The mobile phone apocalypse: it's happening and you don't know it because, err, no one has called or SMSed to tell you. But be warned that the destruction has commenced, and we'll soon become enslaved by phone overlords.
       Don't chuck your cell in the khlong ,hoping parasites will annihilate it though. Phones have already brainwashed us. Our mobile masters have allied with the all-mighty "inebriation",causing us to execute humiliating text messages and calls.
       Mobiles emit powerful rays known as "radiation","spam messages" and "annoying ringtones", weakening our resolve to fight against them.
       When our strength deteriorates, phones will go in for the kill. iPhones and BlackBerries will mate to create the "iBerry",tricking us into thinking their mutant offspring is an ice cream, so it can secretly mutate into life-size forms.
       As the phone apocalypse gains momentum, can the Hero save us?This possible saviour comes from a distant planet known as HTC. The Hero wards off enemies with its tough Teflon coating, and mocks grime with a smudge-repelling layer. It has a protruding "chin" at the bottom of the phone to pulverise the antenna off its foes.
       The Hero works with Google's Android operating system, to create a use-interface weapon called HTC Sense.
       Together, this technological army customises the phone by linking data effortlessly. It's also the first phone that can handle Adobe Flash to blind its rivals.
       Waging war on cell phone predators, the Hero integrates all contact information. That means when mutants are close, the Hero retrieves not only the phone number of the enemy, but also messages, e-mails, photos,and social networking information on a single screen.Nothing scares away marauders more than an embarrassing Facebook photo.
       Don't doubt the power of the 3.2-inch touchscreen Hero. It will liberate us when Earth transforms into a giant cell phone tower.