3GSM Congress mobile news roundup: Feb. 13 - 15, 2006

- Gary Thayer, editor

Feb. 17, 2006 -- (MobileVillage) -- Here is roundup of noteworthy new services announced at the 3GSM World Congress this week in Barcelona.

Action Engine announced three new products. Its "Mobile Search Solution" allows mobile operators to offer subscribers access to in-house and/or third-party search engines including Google, Yahoo!, AOL and MSN. The application unites Web searches, local searches, and portal searches within a single interface, and delivers ads based on a user's recent search request history. Action Engine's new EPG Solution targets media companies, DVR makers and content owners. It aims to enable mobile phone users to remotely search for television, music, and video programming, set SMS reminders for shows, purchase entertainment related downloads and schedule their TV's digital video recorder. The company also unveiled its Advertising Solution that lets operators and content owners manage the rotation and insertion of mobile ads using Action Engine's Mobile Application Platform.

For more information, see actionengine.com. For quick information on the Action Engine, see the company's summary page on MobileVillage.

Visto previewed version 5.5 of its Visto Mobile email service for mobile operators. The latest version lets users access toggle between personal and corporate email and allows users to define and end their mobile email day. A new corporate directory search feature enables users to access local and remote
personal and corporate address lists. Other Visto Mobile 5.5 features enable IT administrators to remotely remove or "wipe" data from a lost or stolen device, and set timeframes for checking or "challenging" user passwords. For more information, see visto.com, or see the company's summary pages on MobileVillage.

Aruba Networks has teamed with Ekahau to enable Aruba's location application programming interface (API) now allows an external application to request and receive three-dimensional coordinates for the location of any Wi-Fi 802.11 device or tag. To learn more, see arubanetworks.com.

Beep Science, a provider of mobile Digital Rights Management software announced its new downloadable Open Mobile Alliance DRM plug-in for Windows Media Player. The plug-in enables playback of OMA v2 DRM protected content in a PC. The application enables cross platform content consumption between PC and mobile phones, where copyright protected content can be transferred and consumed between devices. For details, see beepscience.com.

Startup iSkoot introduced the iSkoot Mobile Network, a gateway that connects cellular voice and PC-to-PC networks. iSkoot Mobile Network allows consumers to place and receive Internet calls with their mobile phones without the need for PCs, special hardware, custom phones or Wi-Fi hot spots. While iSkoot's initial offering is for Cingular customers and supports Skype software only, iSkoot plans to expand the service to more carriers and Internet phone services. To use iSkoot, Cingular users need to download a small software client onto their mobile. The Beta version is available for free at iskoot.com.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer gave a keynote speech at 3GSM in which he announced the upcoming availability of several products. Microsoft Office Communicator Mobile will provide workers with real-time collaboration capabilities such as instant messaging and voice over IP. He also showed off a new live TV service introduced by Virgin Mobile and BT Movio powered by Microsoft for Windows Mobile-based Smartphones, and the new sync center for mobile devices in Windows Vista, the new Windows operating system debuting later this year.

Mobile Weaver announced Unwirepark, a platform that allows mobile operators and OEMs to aggregate and provision mobile content to end users over a branded Web storefront. Unwirepark.com's content can be delivered to mobiles running Pocket PC, Symbian, Palm and Windows Smart Phone. Users can access content online through PayPal, SMS, or credit card. For details, see corp.unwirepark.com.

O3SIS announced the launch of its over-the-air Backup & Restore and Push Mail applications for mobile operators. Backup & Restore automatically safeguards a mobile user's address book, e-mail, calendar, and other PIM data. Push Mail uses the HTTP protocol and SSL encryption, and allows for automatic mail retrieval from different providers via POP or IMAP. Users can activate spam filtering and self-configure their push filters. There is no client software to install and the server automatically configures a new user's phone over the mobile network. For more information on the applications, see o3sis.com.

Personeta announced its Mobile Office product suite targeted at mobile operators. Personeta Mobile Office includes a Mobile VPN application that enables a single private numbering plan and controlled on-net access, as well as a Mobile PBX application that offers direct inbound dialing, closed user groups, find me/follow me functionality, SIM-ring and employee self-sdministration. The portfolio also allows for customer self-provisioning. For more information see personeta.com.

SEVEN has extended its push-email software to small businesses and departments within enterprises. The Workgroup Edition provides up to 25 users access to email, calendar, attachments and contacts on a range of mobile devices. Installation typically takes less than 15 minutes and involves a single download to a computer connected to a corporate network, according to SEVEN. Operators already offering the Workgroup Edition include StarHub in Singapore (StarHub Duality), Telemar in Brazil (E-Mail Movel), and Pannon in Hungary (Pannon E-Phone.) In some markets, it is also offered as Ericsson Mobile Organizer.

SIPquest announced version 2.0 of Mobile Console, its mobile VoIP application for PDAs and smart phones. Mobile Console resides on mobile handsets and detects and recommends network connectivity to allow users to place and receive a call over the best available network - Wi-Fi, GSM or CDMA. Mobile Console 2.0 is optimized for Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 and will be in service provider field trials starting in the second quarter of 2006. For information, see sipquest.com.

SlipStream Data announced that it has developed a data acceleration client for makers of Symbian OS smart phones. According to SlipStream, the mobile acceleration client allows Symbian OS phone users to "receive rapid delivery of highly compressed mobile data while ensuring complete data integrity through lossless compression." For more information see slipstream.com.

Tegic, a division of AOL, announced that its XT9 Mobile Interface (formerly T9 Mobile Suite) text input client will be part of Samsung's new handsets. XT9, launched in October 2005, integrates T9 software for the phone keypad, plus hard and soft QWERTY keyboards, with handwriting recognition capabilities.

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