T-Mobile GmbH will sell unlocked iPhones for $1,482, the German mobile carrier said Wednesday, marking the first time Apple's smartphone has been officially available unlocked.Unauthorized hacks, however, have been used for months by customers to unlock their iPhones so they can make calls on multiple networks or use the device in countries where Apple hasn't yet entered the handset market.In a statement Wednesday, T-Mobile said it would immediately start selling unlocked iPhones, and unlock any already-purchased iPhone for no charge. It made both moves in response to a preliminary ruling Monday in a lawsuit brought by Vodafone Group PLC's subsidiary, Vodafone Germany. According to the injunction, which T-Mobile is appealing, Apple's wireless partner must offer the iPhone without a required 24-month contract.The iPhone, which debuted in Germany on Nov. 9, sells for $592, value-added tax included, and has been offered with three rate plans -- called tariffs in Europe -- priced from $73 to $132 per month.U.K.-based Vodafone had been among the mobile service providers negotiating with Apple for exclusive rights to the iPhone, but in Germany, it lost out to the larger T-Mobile, which is owned by Deutsche Telekom.Vodafone has said it isn't interested in blocking sales of the iPhone in Germany, but it wants the courts to level the playing field between carriers. Vodafone did not reach an agreement with Apple in the two other European markets that Apple has entered: Britain and France. Apple's U.K. partner is O2 (UK) Ltd., while Orange, the rebranded France Telecom, won the deal in France, where the iPhone goes on sale on Nov. 29."Apple can be profitable just on the hardware," argued Ezra Gottheil, an analyst at Technology Business Research. "More is always better, of course, but by unlocking it for a larger price, Apple gets its money."Gottheil wasn't surprised by Vodafone's move. "There's a great deal more resistance to locked phones in Europe," he said, noting that Apple has already promised to abide by French law, which bans locked cell phones, when it unveils the iPhone there next week."In the end, Apple is a provider of neat devices, and it will always return there," said Gottheil. "If and when it's seriously threatened by a rival, and depending on the duration and terms of its exclusive [contract] with AT&T, I think it would unlock the phone in the U.S. in a second."But even as T-Mobile promised to abide by the injunction while it appeals the ruling, it also said it would retract the offer if it prevails. T-Mobile is also considering filing a lawsuit against Vodafone seeking unspecified damages, said company spokesman Klaus Czerwinski on Wednesday. "We think the law does not apply to this situation," Czerwinski said from Bonn. "We are still going to court."T-Mobile will continue to sell iPhones tied to a contract, the company said Wednesday. As part of its revised pitch, T-Mobile reminded potential customers that some of the iPhone's built-in features, including Visual Voicemail, which lets users pick and choose messages to listen to, work when connected to its network.Apple did not respond to a request for comment.Jeremy Kirk of IDG News Service contributed to this report. Computerworld is an InfoWorld affiliate.

The Ottawa-based company has announced plans to restructure that include layoffs due to softness in the telecom market and the strengthening Canadian dollar.

The Hp ipaq 114 Classic Handheld is a stylish personal organizer for busy people from all walks of life. Designed to keep your life in balance this sleek handheld is an affordable companion to your mobile phone. It s easy to keep your calendar contacts and tasks with you and up to date. Stay productive with familiar software tools at your fingertips Microsoft Office Mobile includes Word Mobile Excel Mobile and PowerPoint Mobile. Bring your important documents and files from your Pc with you on the go. Balance your work and life with digital entertainment. Listen to music and watch videos with Windows Media Player Mobile. View share and manage your photos with Hp Photosmart Mobile. Play pre-installed games or download your favorites from the Internet. Integrated Wi-Fi networking makes it easy to access Internet and email at the office or home and at other Wi-Fi hotspots at airports cafes and hotels. Connect to your company s Exchange server to securely synchronize your email contacts and appointments. Connect to Bluetooth accessories like headsets and keyboards to be more productive or just have fun. You can even connect to your Bluetooth mobile phone to go online. The Wireless Connection Manager helps you extend your battery life by checking your connections and turning them off when you re not using them. The ipaq 114 suits your style in any situation. Small and lightweight it fits securely in your hand with a non-slip finish. Easily see what you re doing Product Type Handheld Dimensions (WxDxH) 6.9 cm x 1.4 cm x 11.7 cm Weight 115 g Processor Marvell Xscale Pxa310 624 Mhz Rom 256 Mb Ram 64 Mb Display 320 x 240 3.5" Tft active matrix transflective Image 16-bit (64k colours) Audio Output Speaker(s) Audio Input Microphone Wireless Connectivity Ie 802.11b Ie 802.11g Bluetooth 2.0 Edr Input Device Touch-screen 5-way navigation button stylus Power Ac 120 230 V 50 60 Hz Battery Lithium Ion Operating System Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.0 Manufacturer Warranty 1 year warranty General Product Type Handheld General Width 6.9 cm General Depth 1.4 cm General Height 11.7 cm General Weight 115 g Processor Processor Marvell Xscale Pxa310 624 Mhz Memory Rom 256 Mb Flash Memory Ram 64 Mb Sdram Memory Supported Flash Memory Cards Sd Memory Card Memory Compatibility Sdio Display Display Type 3.5" Tft active matrix transflective Display Image 16-bit (64k colours) Display Display Resolution 320 x 240 Audio Voice Recording Capability Yes Audio Audio Output Speaker(s) Audio Supported Digital Audio Formats Mp3 Audio Audio Input Microphone Telecom Wireless Connectivity Ie 802.11b Ie 802.11g Bluetooth 2.0 Edr Expansion Connectivity Interfaces 1 x headphones output mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm 1 x Usb mini-Usb Type B Input Device Type Touch-screen 5-way navigation button stylus Miscellaneous Cables Included 1 x Usb cable 1 x power cable 1.2 m Miscellaneous Compliant Standards Ce Ul Vcci C-Tick Bsmi Gost Ccib Nom Rrl Sabs Saso c Mic Moc Fcc Aca Cispr Ices Dgt Power Power Device Power adapter Power Voltage Required Ac 120 230 V 50 60 Hz Battery Installed Qty (Max Supported) 1 Battery Technology Form Factor Lithium Ion Battery Capacity 1200 mah Operating System Software Software Calculator Games Voice Recorder Asset Viewer File Manager Msn Messenger Microsoft ActiveSync Adobe Acrobat Reader ipaq Wireless Windows Media Player 10 Mobile Wireless Manager Microsoft Internet Explorer Mobile Microsoft Office Outlook Mobile Website w.marisel.co.uk

Continuous Computing?, global provider of integrated systems and services that enable telecom equipment manufacturers (TEMs) to rapidly deploy Next Generation Networks (NGN), today announced that seasoned technology industry veteran Brian Brown is joining the company as senior vice president of sales and field operations.

Altobridge, an Irish company specialising in remote wireless communications, today announced that it has licensed its patent pending Local Connectivity Platform to Ericsson. The agreement enables Ericsson to provide local switching across its GSM Base Station portfolio. 

Google has released an SDK that programmers can use to create cell phone applications for the company's Android mobile platform.In addition, Google will award $10 million to developers whose applications are deemed "innovative and compelling" by the Open Handset Alliance (OHA), the organization in charge of overseeing the Android platform.Last week, Google unveiled the OHA and Android, ending months of speculation over the company's plans to simplify and reduce the cost of developing mobile applications.On Monday, with the SDK's release, Google also provided more details about Android, an open source development platform that contains a complete set of components, including an operating system, a middleware stack, a UI, and applications.Android is built on the Linux 2.6 kernel, includes a virtual machine called Dalvik to maximize application performance, and will come with a core set of applications, including an e-mail client, an SMS program, a calendar, maps, and a browser based on the open source WebKit engine.The entire Android platform will be made available for free under the Apache Version 2 open source license in 2008, according to Google.The SDK has been designed to let developers "extend, replace, and reuse" software components and comes with debugging tools, libraries, a device emulator, and sample projects, Google said.A plug-in also comes with the SDK to integrate its tools with the Eclipse open source development platform.To use the SDK, developers need to download it to an x86-based computer running Windows XP or Vista, Mac OS 10.4.8 or later, or Linux Ubuntu Dapper Drake or later.Developers will also need Eclipse 3.2 or later with Java Development Tools and the Android SDK's plug-in, or Java and Javac 1.5 or 1.6; Apache Ant; an integrated development environment; and Python 2.2 or later, Google said.Meanwhile, Google will award cash prizes ranging from $25,000 to $275,000 -- up to a total of $10 million -- to developers whose applications are picked by a panel of judges as part of the Android Developer Challenge.Developers will be able to submit applications between Jan. 2 and March 3 of next year. The 50 best ones will receive $25,000 awards so that they can be further enhanced.Those applications will then be eligible for 10 $275,000 awards and another 10 worth $100,000 each. Those awards will be announced in May 2008.Another "challenge" will be launched after the first handsets built on Android become available in the second half of 2008.More than 30 partners are supporting the OHA, including T-Mobile, HTC, Qualcomm, Motorola, Broadcom, eBay, China Mobile, Intel, LG Electronics, NTT DoCoMo, Nvidia, Samsung, Sprint Nextel, Telecom Italia, Telefonica, Texas Instruments, and Wind River.The Android SDK can be downloaded from Google's Web site, which also includes more information about the Android Developer Challenge.The OHA also has a blog and hosts an official discussion forum where developers can share information.

Google's plans to enter the mobile industry with a cell phone platform might have impressed many in the industry but not Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft and one of Google's biggest competitors.Ballmer, predictably sidestepped a request to make any specific comments on the Android software platform during a Tokyo news conference Thursday."Well of course their efforts are just some words on paper right now, it's hard to do a very clear comparison [with Windows Mobile]," he said.Ballmer went on to note the successes that his company has had with its Windows Mobile platform, which commands a sizeable share of the smartphone market, especially in North America. He said Windows Mobile is on 150 different handsets and is available from over 100 different mobile operators. He added that Microsoft will likely license 20 million Windows Mobile handsets this year."So we have great momentum, we've brought our Windows Mobile 6 software to market, we're driving forward on our future releases and we'll have to see what Google does," said Ballmer. "Right now they have a press release, we have many, many millions of customers, great software, many hardware devices and they're welcome in our world."Android was developed by Google and others under the umbrella of the " Open Handset Alliance." The Linux-based platform will combine open-source components and include an operating system, middleware stack, customizable user interface and applications.A number of big names in the wireless industry have already thrown their weight behind OHA, including carriers such as T-Mobile, NTT DoCoMo, Sprint Nextel, Telecom Italia, and China Mobile; handset makers including Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, Motorola, and HTC; and others such as Intel, EBay, NVidia, Qualcomm, and Texas Instruments.Alongside Windows Mobile the biggest competitor that Google will likely face is Symbian. Two days earlier at a news conference also in Tokyo, the CEO of Symbian dismissed the platform's significance."One of the reactions is, it's another Linux platform," said Nigel Clifford. "There's 10, 15, 20, maybe 25 different Linux platforms out there. It sometimes appears that Linux is fragmenting faster than it unifies." 

Headquarters located in Amsterdam, offices in the US and the UK- My client is Europe's largest developer of software for handheld and mobile devices. To facilitate growth are now seeking to recruit a Project Manager,Software Development. Tasks & Responsibilities • Managing projects, needed to deliver traffic information and related services to the customer. • Projects can be internal as well as external. • Report to line management. • Actively participate in implementing, enforcing and improving processes and structure within the organisation, founding the basis for further growth. candidate: • At least 6 years relevant project management experience. • You will have a can-do attitude and be results driven. • Prince 2 certified. • Bachelor/Masters degree in an ICT related discipline or equivalent work experience. • Technical knowledge of ICT-infrastructures • Technical knowledge of mobile telecom networks is preferred • Manage the projects not only from a process point of view but also from a technical point of view. • Leadership experience, excellent interpersonal skills, ability to communicate to all levels within the company and are able to work in a highly adaptive, fast moving environment with a strong focus on high systems ability, scalability and overall service quality. • A good team player, highly self-motivated and have a high sense of responsibility. • Very good language skills in English, both spoken and written Abraxas plc acts as an employment agency/business. No terminology in this advert is intended to discriminate on the grounds of age, and we confirm that we will gladly accept applications from persons of any age for this role.

Continuous Computing?, global provider of integrated systems and services that enable telecom equipment manufacturers (TEMs) to rapidly deploy Next Generation Networks (NGN), today announced the company is a full member of the IMS Forum?, the industry's only association dedicated to IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) application and service interoperability certification.

Google on Monday announced a widely expected open-development platform for mobile devices backed by industry heavyweights like T-Mobile, HTC, Qualcomm, and Motorola that could shake the wireless market to its core by simplifying and reducing the cost of developing mobile applications.[ Analysis: Google Android joins an already crowded list of options ]The platform, called Android, has been developed by Google and others as part of the Open Handset Alliance, which has over 30 partners supporting it. The goal of this ambitious initiative is to spur innovation in the mobile space and accelerate improvements in how people use the Web via cell phones.As previously reported by IDG News Service, the open-source platform will have a complete set of components, including an operating system, middleware stack, customizable user interface and applications.The first Android-based phones should hit the market in the second half of 2008. The platform will be made available under an open-source license that will give a lot of flexibility to those who adopt it to modify its components and design services and products, Google said.The alliance will release an "early access" software development kit next week to provide developers with the tools necessary to create applications for the platform, Google said."Our vision is that the powerful platform we're unveiling will power thousands of different phone models." Google Chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt said in a statement.Other founding members of the alliance include Broadcom, eBay, China Mobile, Intel, LG Electronics, NTT DoCoMo, Nvidia, Samsung, Sprint Nextel, Telecom Italia, Telefonica, Texas Instruments, and Wind River.Noticeably absent from the list is traditional Google ally Apple, whose popular iPhone might see its innovation lead cut sooner than expected thanks to this Google effort.In a press conference Monday, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said that Android will "create a whole new mobile experience for users with new applications and new capabilities that we couldn't imagine today."There are about 3 billion mobile users worldwide, so improving their access to Internet services and applications fits in with Google's core mission, he said.Making it easier for people to access Google's search engines and other online services via mobile devices is key to the company, which must extend its advertising business to the wireless world.While a nascent market, mobile advertising is expected to balloon in coming years. According to Opus Research, mobile advertising spending in North America and Western Europe will reach a combined $5.08 billion by 2012, up from an estimated $106.8 million at the end of this year. This represents a compound annual growth rate of 116 percent.Opus Research, which released the forecast last week, said that improving the mobile user experience will prompt more people to spend more time using the Internet via their cell phones. This in turn will fuel ad revenue growth.Calling Android "the first truly open and comprehensive platform for mobile devices," Schmidt said Google hopes it will power "thousands" of different mobile phones, including, if one were ever to be built, a Google-branded "Gphone."Android, which a Google spokesman said will be completely free, will be made available under the Android Apache v2 license, which Schmidt described as "the most liberal open-source license given to mobile operators or anyone ever.""This platform fundamentally means a new level of innovation in many ways: All kinds of new applications that have never been possible in any other mobile device and the acceleration of ways in which these applications are made available to consumers," Schdmit said.Innovation in the mobile market has been hampered by a lack of collaboration and of technical standards and by the high costs of development and difficulties in distribution, he said.This has made software developers, wireless carriers, and handset manufacturers less inclined to take risks in product development efforts, he said."But mobile users nonetheless want the same applications on their phones that they're accustomed to on the [PC-based] Internet," he said, adding that Android will make it possible for developers, operators, and handset makers to bring this to consumers.Joining Schmidt were the CEOs of T-Mobile's parent company, Deutsche Telekom, HTC, Qualcomm, and Motorola, all of whom supported his statements and said their respective companies had definite plans to develop Android-based products, although the executives in general didn't provide many details.Apparently, most of the Android technology comes from a company by the same name that Google bought in 2005. One of its co-founders, Andy Rubin, now Google's director of mobile platforms, also participated in the press conference and promised much more technical details about the platform when the SDK is released next week.Rubin acknowledged that the operating system component is based on Linux and that the set of components includes what he and Schmidt described as a robust, full-featured mobile HTML browser, which will be key to accomplishing the goal of radically improving the mobile Internet user experience. The browser piece will also be crucial for Google to increase and improve its ability to deliver online ads to cell phones.Asked about Apple's absence from the partner list, particularly as he is an Apple board member, Schmidt said he is also a "happy" iPhone user but that Android's goal is to generate multiple "mobile experiences," including many that haven't yet been invented.Still, there is now a clear indication that Apple may not see this Google effort with good eyes as the alliance could benefit competing handset makers and carriers that don't carry the iPhone. Apple's iPhone carrier partner, AT&T, isn't supporting the Google effort either at this point.Basically, Android could accelerate the pace at which competing handsets catch up with the iPhone's user experience innovations and thus cut into the iPhone's attractiveness in the market.A few weeks ago, Apple announced it will release a SDK so that third-party developers can build iPhone applications. It expects to make the SDK available in February.The SDK will be released next week in an early version that Google hopes to improve upon and evolve as it receives feedback from developers, Rubin said.As part of this effort, Google plans to provide hosted services that third-party developers can use to distribute their Android-based mobile applications, officials said.Schmidt dismissed suggestions that making another mobile platform available will create more technical fragmentation because Android will be open to anyone and gives licensees the freedom to modifiy it at will.Microsoft and Symbian are two major providers of mobile operating system platforms, so this effort by Google is a direct challenge to their respective offerings.Google's CEO also said that the fact that Android is free and open will not preclude his company from entering into revenue-sharing agreements with carriers and handset manufacturers related to the provision of Google services and advertising on mobile devices.More information about the Open Handset Alliance is at this Web site.This story was updated on November 5, 2007

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